Cat's in the Cradle
by Jennifoofighter
Summary: Someone believes the time has come for the son to pay for the sins of the father. MS. Martin Angst.
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: Cat's in the Cradle  
AUTHOR: Jennifoofighter  
RATING: R  
KEYWORDS: MS, Martin Angst/Torture  
SPOILERS/TIMELINE: Everything up until 'Endgame' & Viv's fine.  
ARCHIVE: It can be found here or at DestinedTo.  
DISCLAIMER: Hank and Co. own everything _Without a Trace_. No copyright infringement is intended, ...yada, yada, yada, I get nothing but the satisfaction of having them do what I want if only for a little while.  
SPECIAL NOTE: The title and lyrics are from Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle."  
SUMMARY: Someone believes the time has come for the son to pay for the sins of the father…**

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Chapter 1

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Victor Fitzgerald walked determinedly down the hall of the Hoover Building after what felt like one of the longest days of his life. The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had announced his retirement and recommended to the president that he take over the position. Since then the last three weeks had been a strenuous vetting process. He had nothing but luncheons, committee reviews and general political schmoozing every day. It didn't bother him though, it was the position he had wanted for years and now it was within his reach.

Life was good.

He walked into the lobby outside his office and found his secretary Margaret standing by her desk waiting for him. She had short brown hair and a motherly smile. "Deputy Director, I hope your review went well."

Victor stopped and replied, "I think it went very well."

"That's wonderful," Margaret replied smiling broadly. She was in her forties and been his secretary for almost ten years. She was the most capable assistant Victor had ever had and he fully intended to promote her with him. "I have your messages if you're ready."

"Great, read them to me," he instructed as he walked into his office and put his briefcase on his desk.

"Mrs. Fitzgerald called to remind you that she will meet you at Senator Campbell's house tonight for dinner. The Director's office called to confirm a meeting tomorrow afternoon and drinks at the club afterwards." Margaret scrolled down her notepad and continued, "Assistant Director Peterson would like some of your time tomorrow morning to review some cases and finally, the President has requested that you join him, the Director and Congressman Whitehurst for lunch Friday."

Victor's lips threatened to twitch into a smile but he stifled it and replied, "Margaret, please call the President's office and let them know that would be great. I'll be there. As for the rest, put them on my calendar, they should be fine."

"Very good." Margaret dismissed herself and walked out of his office closing the door behind him.

Victor sat down in his chair and gave a self-satisfied sigh. Lunch with the president was a very good sign. He stared out his window for a few seconds mentally saying, 'F.B.I. Director Victor Fitzgerald' in his head a couple of times before deciding to stop daydreaming and get back to work. He swung his chair around and clicked on his monitor so he could check his email.

He scrolled down though his emails looking for any that demanded immediate attention when he spotted one from his only son, Martin. The subject line simply read: URGENT

Curious, Victor clicked on the email. It opened up to a blank screen but there was an attachment. He clicked the paperclip icon and waited with bated breath to see why Martin would send him such a cryptic email rather than just pick up the phone and call him like he normally did.

The attachment was a video clip and while the screen was black a tune that Victor sort of recognized began to play.

_My child arrived just the other day  
__He came to the world in the usual way  
__But there were planes to catch and bills to pay  
__He learned to walk while I was away_

A baby picture of Martin appeared on the screen, big blue eyes and a gummy smile looked back at him. He knew the picture well; it was framed in sterling silver and sat on the grand piano at home.

_He was talking 'fore I knew it  
__And as he grew he said,  
__'I'm gonna be like you, Dad,  
__You know I'm gonna be like you.'_

Another picture of Martin with a dimpled grin as he sat behind a birthday cake that had a big candle shaped like a number '5' on it.

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,  
__Little boy blue and the man 'n the moon  
__'When you coming home dad?'  
__'I don't know when. We'll get together then.  
__You know we'll have a good time then.'_

Martin standing on a pier at Quechee Lake in Vermont; his hair is dripping wet and he is wrapped in a big beach towel looking like he is shivering. He has a wide smile and his two front teeth are missing.

_Well, my son turned ten just the other day.  
__He said, 'Thanks for the ball, Dad. Come on, let's play.  
__Could you teach me to throw?'  
__I said, 'Not today. I got a lot to do.'  
__He said, 'That's okay.' And he walked away but his smile never did that said,  
__'I'm gonna be like him, yeah.  
__You know I'm gonna be like him.'_

An enthusiastic Martin being carried on the shoulders of his little league teammates; the image was a newspaper clipping from a sports section with the caption reading, "Georgetown Pirates Win World Series."

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,  
__Little boy blue and the man 'n the moon  
__'When you coming home dad?'  
__'I don't know when but we'll get together then.  
__You know we'll have a good time then.'_

Martin sometime during his college years; he is holding a backpack and Mount Rushmore is in the background. That was the summer he went backpacking across the country with a couple of his frat brothers.

_Well, he came from college just the other day,  
__So much like a man I just had to say,  
_'_Son, I'm proud of you. Can you sit for a while?'  
__He shook his head and he said with a smile,  
__'What I'd really like Dad, is to borrow the car keys.  
__See you later. Can I have them please?'_

Next, was a photograph of Martin's graduation from Quantico. He is accepting his badge but his expression is very somber and Victor remembered that they had gotten into an argument just moments before the photo was taken.

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,  
__Little boy blue and the man 'n the moon  
__'When you comin' home, son?'  
__'I don't know when but we'll get together then, dad.  
__You know we'll have a good time then.'_

The front page of a newspaper with a headline titled "FBI Agent Witnesses Kidnapping". Alongside the article were grainy black and white pictures of Brian Stone and Mike Gerard. That was Martin's case.

_I've long since retired, my son's moved away.  
__I called him up just the other day.  
__I said 'I'd like to see you, if you don't mind.'  
__He said, 'I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time.  
__You see my new job's a hassle and the kids have the flu,  
__But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad.  
__It's been sure nice talking to you.'_

The song continued playing but the screen went black before showing another more current picture of Martin. He is walking out of the bureau building in New York and by the looks of the photo it was taken without his knowledge using a telephoto lens. The image transitioned to a close up before becoming digitally altered so that it looked like Martin's skin was melting off exposing his skull.

_And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,  
__He'd grown up just like me.  
__My boy was just like me._

Victor grabbed the phone, dialed his son's cell and it went straight to voicemail. He tried Martin's desk at work and his home number to only get the same thing. He slammed the phone down before quickly picking it up and calling someone he knew could give him an immediate answer.

"Malone."

"Jack, I need to know where Martin is right now." Victor demanded, his voice cracking with fear as the song continued to play in the background...

_And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,  
__Little boy blue and the man 'n the moon  
__'When you coming home, son?'  
__'I don't know when but we'll get together then, dad.  
__We're gonna have a good time then.'_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

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"Come on!" Danny growled in frustration. New York City traffic didn't seem to be in a rush to get anywhere. He exhaled loudly and honked the car's horn again.

"Please stop that." Sam asked, pinching her forehead with her fingers. She had been fighting back a headache from the moment the seminar began this morning until it finally ended thirty minutes ago. It's an ironic thing that spending eight straight hours in a crowded ballroom participating in workshops about 'team building' actually makes one want to strangle members of their team. Thankfully it was over because all she wanted to do was take a nice long hot bath and go to bed.

"Sorry, I just want to get home already. I don't understand why we had to take this seminar." Danny lamented as he turned around and looked at the man in the backseat. "What happened, Jack? You can usually get us out of these things."

"Van Doren caught on to us. We are the only team that has not attended a work shop in four years." Jack shifted in his seat to adjust for his knee that was feeling stiff because of the rain. "Just be thankful it's over and we don't have to worry about this again until next year."

"I didn't mind it." Viv chimed in from the other side of the backseat. "It was kind of a nice change of pace." The three other agents all turned and looked at Vivian in disbelief. "What? I didn't."

"You are one disturbed woman Vivian Johnson." Danny muttered before turning back around to look out the windshield as the wipers swished back and forth. It had started raining this morning and showed no signs of letting up. "Maybe I should have followed Martin's lead and called in sick. Then I could have stayed home and watched TV all day."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Martin is having a great time at home with the flu." Viv replied sarcastically.

"Whatever. I'm pretty sure he's faking it." Danny joked as he tossed a quick glance at Sam.

Sam sighed, sunk herself lower into the seat and gazed out the window. Whenever Martin's name came into the discussion she could feel everyone's eyes on her trying to gauge her reaction. They knew that she and Martin had broken up a few weeks ago but that the topic was still considered taboo. They didn't ask her what had happened and she was not about to volunteer details. And judging by their curiosity, Martin hadn't either.

Jack's cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his jacket pocket answering, "Malone. What's going on? He called in sick. Yesterday. I'm on the road. About two blocks. What's this about? I see. I'll go right now and get back to you." Jack clicked off his phone and said, "Danny, turn left at the light. Let's go pay Martin a visit."

Danny looked at Jack curiously but did as he was told and clicked on his blinker. He glanced in his rearview mirror and asked, "What's up Jack?"

"I'm sure it's nothing but Victor wants us to check up on Martin." Jack replied as he looked pensively out the window.

"Is Daddy worried about his little boy?" Danny smirked as he looked over at Jack.

Ignoring Danny's comment, Sam turned around so she could look directly at Jack. "Why is Victor calling you about Martin?"

Jack cleared his throat and replied, "He said Martin's not answering his phone. He's probably just asleep. I'm sure it's nothing but since we are in the neighborhood we might as well check up on him."

Sam narrowed her eyes not believing him but turned back around in her seat just the same. She rubbed her temples as the headache's intensity increased.

The car ride to Martin's building was virtually silent beyond the sound of rain and traffic. Danny parked the car in the loading zone in front of the building. They all knew that it was an abuse of their federal plates but considering the rain and lack of on-street parking, they over looked it.

The team hurried into the building and shook off the rain as they entered the lobby with its mahogany wood walls and marble floor. It was an upscale apartment building on the upper west side. The first time Sam came to his place she asked him about it and he explained that he was subletting it from a college friend. She knew that the rent still had to be high but knowing who his father was she assumed that Martin probably had some family money to cover expenses.

"Good Evening." Charlie, the doorman greeted. He reminded Sam of Kenny Rogers with his gray hair, full beard and big belly while Martin said he thought he looked more like Santa Clause. Charlie looked directly at Sam and smiled as he said, "Ms. Spade, it's nice to see you again."

Sam could feel all eyes on her upon hearing Charlie's comment but she refused to meet their looks and replied, "It's good to see you too, Charlie." She turned to the others and made introductions.

Charlie greeted everyone before looking back at Sam and saying, "I'm sure Mr. Fitzgerald will be happy to see you. He's been cooped up in his apartment for several days and could use the company," He smiled at Sam as if she were here for what was once a regular social call.

She gave him a tight smile, nodded her head and turned and headed to the elevator as the others thanked Charlie and came to stand alongside her. She kept her eyes on the elevator doors and hurried inside the moment they slid open.

Once they all boarded she thought she was in the clear when Danny softly asked, "So, Ms. Spade, on which floor does Mr. Fitzgerald live?"

Sam rolled her eyes and leaned over to press the button for the fifteenth floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

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They walked out of the elevator and followed Sam down the hall towards Martin's apartment. She stopped at the door marked '1509' and rang the doorbell. As they waited she thought about how this place was almost a second home to her for eight months but now she stood outside the door like she was a volunteer from the Sierra Club looking for signatures.

After a few moments, when Martin still had not answered the door, Jack reached across her and pressed the button again.

"Maybe he really is playing hooky." Danny teased just as Jack started knocking hard on the door.

No answer.

"Danny, run back downstairs and get Charlie to come up and let us in." Jack said with his eyes focused on Martin's door. Sam knew Jack well enough to see that the wheels in his mind were spinning.

"Jack, what aren't you telling us?" Sam's demanded with a voice of restrained irritation.

Jack sighed audibly and replied, "Victor got a cryptic email from Martin's account and he just wants us to make sure he's okay. He was pretty shaken up by it."

Sam eyed him carefully before pulling her keys out of her coat pocket and locating the one Martin had given to her several months ago. He hadn't asked for it back and she hadn't offered to return it. With everyone's eyes on her, she inserted the key into the deadbolt and unlocked it before moving to do the same with the doorknob. She opened the door and slowly walked in, loudly announcing herself, "Martin? Martin, it's me, Sam. I'm with Jack, Viv and Danny, are you here?"

The apartment's lights were all on but the air was still and quiet. She moved inside the living room with the others right behind her.

"Well, it looks like he definitely was here and was sick." Viv commented as she waved a hand over the coffee table that was littered with half empty glasses of water and Gatorade, a bottle of cough syrup, wadded up tissues along, an empty box of Kleenex, a bottle of prescription pills and the remote for the TV.

The sofa had a pillow and quilt on it and it looked like he'd been taking quite a few naps there. Sam eyed the quilt that she knew very well. One night after they made love she wanted to go sit on the balcony so he bundled them both up in it as they sat on the Adirondack chair and looked out over the city.

_Sam sighed and snuggled up closer against Martin, her back to his chest. His skin was warm and smelled like the heady combination of his own scent and their coupling earlier. It was a surprisingly beautiful night for early October, the air crisp and cool. They sat together in comfortable silence as they looked out at the city skyline. _

_She still found it hard to believe that she was here with him like this. He was so different from the men she normally dated. He didn't play games or struggle for the power in the relationship. He just wanted to be with her plain and simple. And while most women would appreciate that kind of openness, Sam found it to be a real challenge. As it turns out, uncomplicated was much more difficult. _

_They reclined there for awhile just listening to the sounds of each other breathing and Sam took her eyes off the skyline to look at their legs wrapped up in the blanket. They limbs intertwined, she didn't know which bumps were him and which were her. As she studied the hills and valleys of their bodies underneath the blanket she couldn't help but notice the elaborate patchwork. _

"_This is a really pretty quilt, how long have you had it?" Sam asked as she ran her fingers over the frayed piping. _

"_Since college. Bonnie made it out of my old baby clothes. She used to do that for all the nieces and nephews." Martin replied softly. He sighed and Sam knew that he was thinking of his aunt so she just kept still and let him remember. "I thought it was a weird thing to give a guy going off to college but I took it so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. I kept it in the trunk of my car knowing I'd never put it on my bed in the dorm. Funny thing is I ended up using it all the time, at picnics, pep rallies, tail gate parties, camping, you name it. And now it's actually my favorite blanket." He paused a moment before kissing her temple and murmuring, "Of course, I like it even more when there is a beautiful woman wrapped up in it."_

"_Oh, I bet you do." Sam laughingly replied as Martin playfully tickled and kissed her._

Sam took her eyes off the quilt, now was not the time for romantic reverie.

"Martin?" Jack's gruff voice shouted out and finding no response. He looked down the dark hall to the bedroom.

"I'll go check the bedroom." She turned and headed to the back of the apartment. Wordlessly, Viv came into step alongside her. Sam quickly glanced back as she walked and saw Jack poking around the living room, picking up the bottle of prescription pills and reading the label.

"I'll check the kitchen," Danny announced as he headed in the opposite direction.

"Martin?" The door was open as she entered the bedroom. He wasn't inside but there were signs of him having spent time in there as well. The bed was unmade with the sheets bunched up at the foot of the bed. More empty cups on the nightstand and a box of tissues. Vivian went to go look in the bathroom and came out shaking her head that he wasn't there either. The humidifier in the corner emitted a grumbling sound and when Sam walked over to inspect it she saw that all the water had long ago evaporated so she shut it off.

"In here!" Danny shouted; his voice filled with panic.

Sam and Viv looked at one another before hurrying down the hall towards the kitchen. When they rushed in they saw Jack standing next to Danny who was crouched on the floor next to a pool of blood. Sam looked around and saw blood smears along the counter and door that lead to the service stairwell.

She suddenly forgot how to breathe.

Danny grabbed some paper towels from the counter and pushed open the door to see if he could see anything else. Acting on their training, they pulled out their weapons and followed him out. The stairwell was clean and there were no signs of Martin or anyone else anywhere. Danny and Sam went to check the downstairs while Jack and Vivian went up. After a fruitless search, they met back up at Martin's doorway.

"Don't touch anything." Jack ordered as he stood in the stairwell and pulled out his cell phone. "This is Special Agent Jack Malone. I need a crime scene unit sent to…."

Sam stopped listening and walked back inside the kitchen. She stared at the blood on the floor and wondered who would have wanted to hurt Martin and more importantly, where they would have taken him. She looked up and saw that Danny and Vivian had walked back in as well.

No one spoke as they studied the scene before them, the silence only broken by the sound of the refrigerator's motor whirring to life.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

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It was the rear tire hitting a pot hole that roused Martin to consciousness. His eyelids felt heavy but he managed to open them to try to look around. Everything was pitch black but he did know that he was moving, the soft rhythm of car interrupted by the tire hitting another pothole_. Trunk of a car_, Martin thought to himself. His side was throbbing with a sharp pain and when he tried to move his hand to inspect the pain he realized that his wrists were tied behind his back and his ankles were bound as well. He started to cough violently and it made the pain in his side that much more intense. His entire body hurt and ached. His head felt heavy and fuzzy as he tried to remember how he ended up here.

_He had never felt so sick. His body ached all over and he couldn't stop coughing no matter how much cough syrup he drank. He rolled over on the sofa and brought the blanket up around his shoulders to watch TV. As was always the case, when he had nothing but time to watch television there was nothing on worth watching. He reached for the remote to start around round of channel surfing when his doorbell rang. He tossed the remote on the coffee table and dragged himself off the couch to see who could possibly be here to see him. For a millisecond he pretended that it was Sam stopping by with chicken soup to check on him but he reminded himself that she would not be stopping by ever again. Of course, even if they were still together she was hardly the nurturing type; she still might not stop by even if they were still dating. _

_He reached the door and saw the night doorman, Joseph, standing in the hall. Martin realized that he was wearing pajama bottoms and a t-shirt so he only opened the door a crack. "Hi Joseph."_

"_Hello, Mr. Fitzgerald. I hope you are feeling better." Joseph asked in his monotone voice. Joseph was in his early sixties, bald underneath his cap, tall and lean. _

"_Thanks, what can I do for you?" Martin asked as he started to cough. He didn't want to be rude but he was feeling woozy just standing there and wanted to go lie down on the sofa and be miserable. _

"_Dr. Barkhurst had your prescription delivered." Joseph handed Martin a small white pharmaceutical bag. _

"_My prescription?" Martin looked at the bag and didn't realize that Emerson had ordered one for him. Dr. Emerson Barkhurst is an orthopedist who lived in the building. Charlie, the day doorman, had told him that Martin was sick so he came up earlier to check up on him. He basically told him what Martin already knew, take cough syrup, rest, drink plenty of fluids, etc. Martin looked in the bag and pulled out the plastic orange bottle with the white cap and sure enough, it was a bottle of antibiotics with his name on the label. He started coughing again and replied, "Thanks, Joseph. How much do I owe you?" _

"_Nothing, there was no charge. I guess Dr. Barkhurst took care of it." _

"_Oh, okay. Thanks for bringing it up to me." _

"_No problem, Mr. Fitzgerald. Take care." Joseph said as he turned and walked quickly down the hall. _

_Martin closed the door and went back to the sofa. He read the instructions and took one pill before lying back down to watch TV. About fifteen minutes later that now familiar nauseous feeling came back. He ran straight for the toilet and emptied the contents of his stomach. _

Martin remembered going back to the sofa afterwards but everything after that was a blank. He closed his eyes again, trying to force himself to remember but there was nothing. He was hit with another coughing fit when the car came to a stop. He heard a car door open and close followed by footsteps. He blinked against the darkness as a wave of fear washed over him.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

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Sam stood in the kitchen watching as the CSI techs photographed the scene and took blood samples for analysis. She wished she had something to do, a lead to follow, something to keep her busy so she wouldn't just stand there worrying about Martin. She turned and walked into the living room where Jack was on the phone with Victor.

"Yes, they're processing the scene. Can you send me the email you received? I can have our tech look at it. Yes, I understand. I'll wait for it. See you shortly." Jack's voice was calm, Sam noticed that it was the same tone he used when dealing with parents of missing children. "I just talked to Victor and he is on his way. Danny found Martin's holster and the gun and his handcuffs are missing. I'd like for you to look around the apartment and tell me if anything else is missing or seems out of place. You are the only one who has spent enough time here to notice."

Jack's words weren't accusatory but there was no mistaking the hurt tone underneath. Sam squared her shoulders and nodded, "Yeah, sure."

The living room was crawling with police officers and techs so she decided to begin in the bedroom. She pulled the latex gloves out of her pocket and slid them on as she walked into the room. Someone had opened the doors to the balcony sending in a cool breeze. Glancing around, she didn't see anything out of place but she walked over to the bureau in the walk-in closet and opened the drawer where Martin kept his watches and other items of value. She immediately saw that all his watches were missing as well as the various cufflinks his mother had given him over the years.

She turned around to let Jack know when she saw the duffle bag where Martin kept all his climbing gear was unzipped and stuff was hanging out of it. He was always very neat about his climbing gear – he wouldn't just leave it looking like that. Sam kneeled down and opened up the bag to see that his cords were in disarray. She immediately knew that whoever took Martin used some stuff from this bag. She stood up and went to go tell Jack.

When she entered the living room, she saw Danny and Viv standing behind Jack who sat at the dining room table with a laptop in front of him.

"What's going on?" Sam asked as she stood alongside Viv.

"Victor sent Jack the email he got earlier." Viv replied without taking her eyes off the screen.

The Real Player opened up to a black screen and the Harry Chapin song, "Cat's in the Cradle" began to play. They all remained quiet as they watched images of Martin growing up appeared on the screen while the melancholy tune played. Sam held her breath when the headline article of the kidnapping appeared on the screen. It was when she saw the photo of Martin exiting the building and how it was distorted that she had never felt more terrified in her entire life.

The video stopped playing and the entire team stared at the black screen waiting for some message, some demand to appear but that was all.

"He's taunting us." Jack said quietly.

"What does he want?" Vivian asked. "If he was planning on killing Martin why not leave him where we could find him? Why take Martin away?'

"I don't know." Jack paused as stared at the screen thinking. "Whatever it is though, this is about Victor. Sam, go downstairs and talk to Charlie. Ask him when the last time he saw Martin was and get the names and addresses of the other doormen. They must have seen something or someone. There are no signs of forced entry which means whoever did this knows this building. Danny, I need you to start researching all the cases Victor has worked. Viv I'll forward the email to Mac and have him see if he can get any information off of it. Research the photos and tell me if you come up with anything."

"Hold on." Sam said when she suddenly thought of something. Still wearing her gloves she walked over to Martin's bookshelf and pulled out his photo album. She opened it to the first page and there was Martin's baby picture. She flipped through the album and each photo that was in the video was there right up until Martin's graduation from Quantico. She held it up and said, "Jack, with the exception of the last two, all the images are here. If whoever did this could get into Martin's apartment without any signs of forced entry it's possible that they had access to this as well."

"Bag it. Viv please take the album and have the CSI's check for fingerprints. Anything comes up you know what to do. Also, Victor and Elizabeth are on their way, have them go through and see if anything significant comes up. He had an entire album of photographs to choose from – he may have chosen those photos for a very specific reason."

As they all left to get to work Sam turned and looked back at the sofa. As she rode the elevator down to the lobby she remembered the last time she sat on it.

_They were lying on the sofa watching the Knicks play the Bucks on TV._ _Their heads on opposite ends, Martin was closest to the back of the sofa and he was mindlessly playing with her socked feet with his eyes on the television. The camera cut to Spike Lee sitting courtside and Sam stole a glance at Martin. It had been a little over a week since their argument on her front stoop about going public and things had been a bit tense since then. It didn't help matters that Jack now knew about them and she felt more self-conscious around the office and Martin sensed it._

_The game cut to commercial at half-time and Martin maneuvered himself off of the sofa and stood up. Sam immediately missed his warmth. As he walked to the kitchen he asked, "Do you want a beer?" _

"_Yes please." She replied as he walked through the door. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling. She blew out a frustrated breath and didn't know how she could possibly fix things. She knew that Martin was growing tired of how their relationship was going but she didn't know how to fix it. He wanted more from her but she wasn't sure she was capable of giving it to him. _

_He walked back to the sofa and she moved to sit up. He handed her the beer and sat back down with his eyes on the TV._

_She looked at the cold beer in her hand and turned to Martin, "Thank you." He quickly glanced at her and nodded his head before turning his attention back to the TV. "Are we going to talk about this?"_

"_About what?" Martin asked without breaking his eyes from the game. _

_Sam looked up in time to see Michael Redd make a three-point shot. "Martin, don't play obtuse."_

_Martin sighed heavily, "I don't want to fight."_

"_Neither do I but I don't like being given the silent treatment either."_

_He leaned back into the sofa and lifted the beer up but didn't take a drink. "I'm not trying to punish you with the silent treatment. I just don't know what to do anymore. I thought once everyone knew it might be easier but now whenever I try and get close to you I can feel you pull away. You either fight with me or initiate sex to get me to shut up." _

_She wanted to tell him that wasn't the case but she knew that he was right. So instead of telling him he was wrong, that she did care about him, she just took a drink of her beer and kept her eyes on the TV. _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

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Martin tensed as the footsteps neared. He took a deep breath and could smell sweat, car oil, and an acrid scent that was unmistakably blood. He had never felt so vulnerable in his life. He was in no position to defend himself with both his wrists and ankles bound. It also didn't help that he was sick and could barely breathe since he was coughing so much. The footsteps stopped and he could hear two men arguing. One of the voices sounded familiar but he couldn't place it.

"This isn't the plan." The familiar voice shouted.

"Well this is the new plan now. He's worth a lot of money." The second voice was coarse like sandpaper.

"This isn't about money! It's about making them understand, sending him a message. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to scare them."

"He would have been fine but he is the one who attacked me. Look at me! I'm bleeding here and I want some monetary compensation."

"Look, I'm sorry about that but you knew the risks. I paid you to help me and that's it. This is my deal."

"I'm not giving him up. So are you with me or not?"

"It's over. I'm not doing this for ransom."

He could hear feet shuffling, it sounded like they were fighting. There was a slam against the trunk of the car and fists meeting flesh.

"I'm taking him with me. You tell anyone and I will tell them it was all your idea."

Martin heard a loud thump, hurried footsteps, and the car speed off. Martin felt some satisfaction in knowing that even if he didn't remember doing it he was able to defend himself and injure one of them in the process. Unfortunately he also realized that he was now being held captive by the one who was the loose cannon.

He wondered about the man who they left behind and seemed to have a personal investment in kidnapping him. The question was who did he mean by 'them'? The team? And who was 'him'? And why did he recognize that voice? From where?

He tried to think who would have a vendetta that would be best served by kidnapping him. Then he realized that if ransom was involved that this whole thing must involve his dad. His father's profile has increased these last few weeks due to his promotion….. He wondered if his dad even knew about this yet. Did anyone know?

Suddenly the car made a hard turn causing Martin to roll over, pressing into the wound in his side and sending white hot pain through his body and he lost consciousness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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The elevator doors opened and Sam walked out into the lobby. Charlie was talking to a uniformed police officer. She squared her shoulders and walked directly towards the doorman. The officer nodded at her and walked away.

"Ms. Spade, I can't believe this is happening." Charlie had a worried look on his face and was wringing his hands.

Sam gave him a sympathetic look but knew that she needed to get down to business. Time was of the essence so she said, "This is difficult for all of us but I need to ask you some questions."

"Sure, I'll do anything I can to help."

She pulled out her notepad and asked, "Have you noticed anyone suspicious hanging around the building in the last few weeks?"

"No, not at all."

"When was the last time you saw Martin?"

Charlie thoughtfully replied, "It was the day before yesterday."

_Charlie was standing in the foyer when he spotted Martin walking up the sidewalk. He opened the door and as Martin was walking in he started coughing._

"_Mr. Fitzgerald, you don't sound so good if you don't mind me saying."_

"_Yeah, I think I'm coming down with something." Martin coughed and Charlie noticed that he was pale. _

"_I suggest that you go right upstairs and get right to bed." Charlie had been the doorman here for over twenty-five years and felt comfortable chatting with the tenants. "If you're feeling a bit nauseous I recommend ginger tea."_

_Martin held a fist up to his mouth as he coughed again. When he was done he quietly replied, "Thanks Charlie. I'll do that."_

_Charlie watched as Martin moved into the elevator and the doors slid closed._

"And that was it. He went upstairs and that was the last time I saw him." Charlie looked at the elevator.

"There was some prescription medicine in his apartment. You didn't see him go out to see a doctor?" Sam clicked her pen nervously. She had hoped Charlie could provide her with more information.

Charlie shook his head before replying, "That might have been from Dr. Barkhurst. He lives in 1516. I told him about Mr. Fitzgerald and he said he would check in on him."

"That's pretty generous." Sam said.

"Well, I know Mr. Fitzgerald feeds his fish when he's out of town so I think he was just being neighborly."

"Is Dr. Barkhurst home?"

"No, he generally gets home around eight o'clock. He has his own practice but I can give you the address and number if you'd like."

"That'd be great. I'll need the information for the other two doormen as well."

"Sure, I'll be right back." Charlie walked to the counter where the doormen often lingered and began flipping through a rolodex.

Sam heard the elevator doors open and Jack emerged.

"Good, you're still here." Jack commented as he walked towards her. He nodded over to Charlie and asked, "Find out anything?"

Sam quickly debriefed him on what little information she learned from Charlie. He confirmed that the name on the prescription was indeed Dr. Barkhurst.

Jack processed what she had told him when he explained the real reason for coming downstairs. "You forgot to tell me what you learned while you were upstairs."

Sam mentally cursed herself for getting so uncharacteristically distracted. "Oh, damn it. Whoever did this stole quite a few things; all of his watches are gone along with several very expensive sets of cufflinks. And someone went through his climbing gear. My guess would be they used the cords to tie him up."

"Great. I'll call the CSI's to process those things." Jack pulled out his cell phone and studied Sam carefully. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine Jack." Sam met his gaze daring him to try and argue with her.

He nodded his head and curtly replied, "Good." Then he started relaying the information to the CSI's upstairs.

"Here you are Ms. Spade." Charlie said as he walked over and handed Sam a sheet of paper. "Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Jack finished his call and interrupted, "According to the police there is a video camera where the stairwell exits to the loading dock. How can I get a copy of the tape?"

"It's just here." Charlie pointed to behind the counter. "Do you just want last night?"

"I'll take it for the last week if you have them."

"Sure." Charlie walked back over to the counter and pulled a box of videotapes out form under the counter. He tossed all the tapes inside and slid the box across the counter to Jack who took them.

Jack turned to Sam and said, "I'm heading back to the office to meet up with Victor."

"I'll head over to talk to Dr. Barkhurst. He might have been the last one to see him." Sam replied.

"Okay, good." Jack studied her carefully before commenting. "I'll see you back at the office."

Jack walked past her and out the door. Sam looked over at Charlie who was watching her with sad eyes. She tilted her head at him and went off in search of the good doctor.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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Victor Fitzgerald and his wife, Elizabeth, rode in the taxi in silence. Each staring out their respective windows lost in their own thoughts. He glanced over to where she sat and wondered if she was blaming him too. When he told he what happened she demanded to see the email video and despite his better judgment he let her. After watching it she looked at him and said, "Promise me you'll find him Victor." But she had been relatively silent since then - the entire flight to New York she was quiet.

The cab stopped at a light and Victor spotted a man walking down the busy sidewalk with a little boy on his shoulders. The little boy was pointing to things around him and the father looked like he was giving explanations. He must have said something funny because the little boy started laughing as the father reached up to tickle him. He never did that with Martin, there was never enough time. At least that's the excuse he gave Martin whenever he would beg him to play or read him a story. He remembered when Martin was a little boy who would come running to the front door excited to see him. Victor mentally cursed the man he was then, the one who told the big blue eyed boy that he had work to do and he needed some peace and quiet. He wished he could go back in time and tell that man that those moments were precious and that someday that same boy would grow up and instead of running to see him would make sure to get assigned to a position across the country so he would be as far away as he could get from his father.

As the cab started moving again he remembered when he had tried to talk to Martin before his graduation from Quantico and convince him to let him pull some strings and get him a position in Washington.

_Martin was laughing and talking with some of the other new agents as they prepared for the ceremony. Clearly Martin was telling a story because his hands were animated as he talked. He wondered if Martin knew just how much he looked like his grandfather when he spoke; they both used hand gestures whenever they told stories. He walked towards Martin but when they met eyes he felt a pang of disappointment when Martin's smile faded. "Hi, Dad." Martin said in a calm professional tone._

"_Congratulations, Martin." Victor reached out to shake Martin's hand. _

"_Thanks." Martin gave him a small smile as they shook. He introduced his friends to Victor, who couldn't help but notice were quite happy to be introduced to the Deputy Director personally. _

"_Can I have a word with you?" Victor asked quietly. Martin nodded and excused himself from his friends and the two of them walked over to a corner where they could talk in private. "Big day."_

"_Yeah, it's pretty exciting." Martin smiled and Victor saw a little twinkle in his eyes._

_He hoped that when he told Martin his big news that his smile would get even wider. "I've arranged to have you put in domestic terrorism here in Washington."_

_Martin frowned and replied. "Well, thanks but no thanks. I want to work White Collar in Seattle." _

"_Martin, this is Washington. Do you have any idea how many of your fellow new agents would kill for a prime position like this? This is the jumping off point to moving up to ASAC in record time." Victor argued back. Martin was throwing away a golden ticket to the top._

"_Look, that's your plan. Not mine." Martin replied furiously, nostrils flaring. "I want to do this on my own."_

"_Martin, don't be a fool. Think of your future." _

"_I am thinking about my future." Martin rubbed his chin with his hand as he considered his words. With a steely look he said, "How can I be respected as an agent if my father is constantly pulling strings? No one will ever take me seriously, can't you understand that?"_

_Victor was stunned that Martin would be so ungrateful when all he was doing was trying to help him. "I think you are just doing this to spite me." _

_Martin shook his head at him in disbelief and said, "Not everything is about you." _

Victor sighed heavily and thought back to the video that he had watched several times, looking and searching for any clue as to who would want to harm Martin as a means of exacting revenge on him. It was extremely difficult to watch; not just because of the threat but to see pictures of his only son and realize that he truly wasn't around for most of those photos and that the song was incredibly appropriate. He had missed so many milestones of Martin's life, just believing that there would be time later. As if Martin would remain in suspended animation until he was ready. But no, Martin had grown into this man that he knew almost nothing about. He just prayed that Martin would be found safe and he could make up for the lost time.

He looked over at his wife who was still looking out the window. He reached out for her hand and grabbed it. She turned to look at him and gave him a sad smile. He squeezed her hand, pulled her to him and whispered, "I'm going to find him, Beth. I am going to find our boy."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

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Sam sat on the stiff chair as she waited for Dr. Emerson Barkhurst to finish with a patient. Dr. Barkhurst worked in Sports Medicine and his lobby reflected his interests. There were framed photos of Dr. Barkhurst with various sports legends all along the walls. The magazines on the tables were _Sports Illustrated, Runner's World, _and_ ESPN. _It was no wonder that he and Martin got along.

"Agent Spade, Dr. Barkhurst will see you now." The receptionist announced as she stood behind the counter.

Sam stood up and followed her down a hall and into an office with large windows that looked out onto Central Park. Dr. Barkhurst was sitting behind a large oak desk and was on the phone. He held a finger up to Sam indicating that he was almost done with the phone call.

Sam sat down on the leather chair in front of the desk and gave Dr. Barkhurst an annoyed look. He finished his phone call and hung up.

"Sorry, Carol said you were here to talk about Martin?" Dr. Barkhurst asked in a deep baritone voice. "What's going on? Is he okay?"

"He's missing. Dr. Barkhurst, according to Charlie he told you about Martin's condition and that you said you were going to check on him." Sam replied as she leaned back and crossed her legs.

"Please, call me Emerson. Yes, I saw him yesterday afternoon."

_Emerson sat on the coffee table and had a wooden tongue depressor in Martin's mouth. He looked at Martin's throat and then pulled the depressor out and said, "Well, you are sick."_

"_Astute diagnosis, you went to medical school for that?" Martin replied with a sly grin as he leaned back onto the sofa._

"_Well, you know I only went into medicine for the chicks and money." Dr. Barkhurst replied laughing._

"_I figured as much." Martin commented as he bunched the quilt around his shoulders like a giant cape. "So, doc, what's your prescription?" _

"_Rest, drink plenty of fluids…." Martin rolled his eyes and Emerson laughed, "Yeah, I know but really those are the best things for you. Sorry."_

_Martin smiled and said, "Well, thanks for coming by to check up on me. At least if my boss asks I can honestly say I did see a doctor."_

"_Glad to help." Emerson started packing his medical bag. "Think of it this way: now you can have that girlfriend of yours fuss over you. Hey, you never told me: did she like the tickets to the Knicks game?"_

"_Well, we're not together anymore." Martin replied softly._

"_Oh, sorry about that." Emerson said gently. "Oh, well, there are plenty of fish in the sea and all that right?" _

"_Yeah, sure." Martin said as he looked at Emerson with sad eyes. "Thanks again for coming by."_

_Emerson stood up to walk to the front door and Martin moved to stand. "No, stay here, I'll let myself out. Just be sure to rest and I'll try and check back up on you in a couple of days."_

_Martin nodded his head and started coughing. He followed Emerson with his eyes and when Emerson reached the door he gave him a wave goodbye._

"And that was it. I thought I might stop by tonight to see how he was."

She swallowed back the guilt in knowing that this man was the one who gave Martin the highly precious courtside seats. She wondered what he finally did with the tickets. With a stern voice she asked, "What about the medicine you prescribed?"

Emerson looked at her perplexedly and replied, "I didn't prescribe anything."

Sam pulled a plastic bag out of her jacket pocket that held the prescription bottle. Thankfully she had thought to go back up to Martin's apartment to grab it for reference.

She tossed it on the desk and Emerson picked it up and read the label.

"I didn't prescribe this." Emerson replied looking at it. He pressed the bottle up against the plastic baggy to study the pills. "I'm not sure what these pills are without taking them out but they are definitely not antibiotics." Squinting, he looked closer and added, "Actually, you might want to have these tested because the shape and size looks like Rohypnol."

"The date rape drug?" Sam suddenly felt the rush in knowing that they uncovered a very important clue.

"I can't be sure since this is bagged but they look like them." He handed Sam the bag and said, "Do you have any idea who would want to hurt Martin?"

"We're working on it." Sam stood up and said, "Thank you Emerson, you've been a big help."

"Have you talked to Martin's ex-girlfriend? I don't know her name but she might be of some help." Emerson offered.

Sam was unsure what to say, she didn't know what was sadder: being the ex-girlfriend or the fact that a friend of Martin's didn't even know her name. So she simply said, "She knows and she is doing everything she can to find him."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

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"Whoever did this is good." Mac the tech commented as he worked through the email. "It was sent on a time release through Martin's computer."

Viv sighed. She had hoped that they would have been able to pull something useful off of Victor's email but so far no luck. It appeared that the photos used were taken from Martin's album because it had been wiped clean – the only prints found on it were Sam's. "What about the attachment? Can you find anything useful on how it was created?"

"No, it was made on a Windows Movie Maker and downloaded directly on Martin's hard drive. There was nothing special to indicate who might have made it. It is so incredibly common that it's almost impossible to track it down."

"Thanks anyway." Viv replied as she pat Mac on the back before walking out of the tech room.

She headed back towards the bullpen when she spotted Samantha exiting the elevator. She could not imagine how hard this was for Sam.

"Hey, did you find anything?" Sam asked as she walked towards Viv. She looked stressed and tired.

"No. You?"

"Yeah, whoever did this planned it out well in advance. The prescription pills were phony, the doctor didn't prescribe them. They were ruffies in disguise."

"If they drugged him in advance, presumably without his knowledge, what happened in that kitchen?"

"I don't know." Sam croaked out before taking a deep breath and changing the subject. "Anything on the photo albums?"

"No, I was going to wait to talk to the Fitzgeralds to see if any of the photos had any personal reference."

Sam raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are they here?"

"Yeah, they are in Jack's office." Viv replied and nodded towards the room where Victor Fitzgerald sat next to a composed blonde woman. "Let's go see if Danny has found out anything."

Sam and Viv walked to the bullpen and found Danny sitting at the conference table with a stack of files. He looked up and said, "Please tell me one of you found out something that can help narrow down the search."

Both the women shook their heads and Danny growled. "Victor has worked for the bureau for over thirty five years. It's like looking for a needle in haystack. We need him to tell us if any cases stand out."

Viv looked back over to see Jack talking to Victor. "Well, hopefully Jack will find out something."

Sam sat down next to Danny and looked directly at Viv. "Have the results come in on the blood from the apartment?"

Viv lowered her eyes and replied, "Yeah, there were two types found at the scene. One of them is Martin's."

"So Martin fought back. Good." Danny commented positively but Viv noticed the fear behind his eyes.

"Did the doormen have anything else to offer?" Viv asked Sam.

"Um, I talked to Henry – he works the mornings and he said he hadn't seen Martin in a few days. I tried contacting Joseph who works the graveyard but I got his machine. I left a message for him to call me. I talked to Charlie who said that Joseph often goes out to dinner before his shift so I asked him to have Joseph call me if he goes straight to work." Sam's response was laced with frustration. "Do you know if Jack got anything off of the videos?"

Viv sighed heavily. She really did not want to give Sam more bad news. "Yeah, there was nothing on them. No sign of anyone entering or leaving."

Sam lowered her head and angrily said, "Damn it!" She kept her gaze on the floor but by the hitch of her shoulders Viv knew that Sam was on the verge of completely breaking down.

Danny and Viv exchanged worried looks. Viv walked over to where Sam sat and rubbed her shoulder. "We're going to find him Sam."

Sam wiped her face before looking up and said, "I don't want to just find him, Viv. He has to be okay when we do and we both know the longer he's missing the worse the odds are."

Viv wished she could tell Sam something comforting but she was right. They needed to catch a break and they needed it soon.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

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"I have Agent Taylor going through your files but if you can recall any cases that standout that would be extremely helpful." Jack asked as he clasped his hands and leaned forward on his desk.

"Jack, you and I both know that a career in the bureau makes a lot of enemies." Victor replied. "At this point, considering how much my profile has grown these past few weeks it could be anyone. Was your tech able to get anything from the email?"

"He's working on it." Jack glanced at Beth who looked ashen. "We did find out that whoever did this had access to Martin's apartment. He used photos out of Martin's album and we were wondering if any of the images had any significance?"

Victor shook his head but Beth leaned up straight in her chair. "Can I see the photos?"

Victor turned to Beth and said, "Why?"

"I just think I can find some connection. I can't put my finger on it but I can feel there is something there." Beth replied determinedly.

Jack watched as Victor looked at Beth curiously and said, "Sure. It's in the bullpen." He stood up and added, "Come with me."

The three of them stood up and walked out of the office to the bullpen. Jack saw that Sam was back and looked really distressed. It hurt him to see her looking so forlorn. As they neared the agents looked up. Jack made quick work of the introductions and he couldn't help but notice that Beth looked longer at Sam than the others.

"Viv, we need the album. Mrs. Fitzgerald would like to look at the images." Jack said to Viv.

"The album is bagged but I printed out each image from the email." She walked to her desk and brought over the six photos and laid them on the remaining clear space on the conference table. "Here you go, Mrs. Fitzgerald."

"Thank you." Beth sat down and began looking through the photos. Victor glanced back and forth between the agents who were watching them warily before pulling Martin's chair away from his desk and sitting next to her. He leaned in close and looked over her shoulder.

Jack was unsure if he should stay there or go back to his office. He finally decided to hang out for a bit and get the latest updates from his agents. Sam, Danny and Viv updated him on all they learned while Victor listened intently.

While Danny and Victor discussed the cases that Danny felt were worth noting Jack stole a glance at Beth. She was staring at the picture of Martin by the lake. She looked wistful as she ran her fingers over the picture. While Jack had spent so much time dealing with parents whose children have gone missing this was a really hard situation. He knew the parents and the man who no matter how old was still their son, their boy. He didn't know what he would do if anything were to happen to Hanna or Kate.

Victor ended his conversation with Danny and turned his attention back to Beth who was now looking at the newspaper clipping of Martin's little league game. He leaned in close to whisper to her in private but given where Jack was sitting he could still overhear them talking.

"I don't remember this game." Victor commented softly.

Beth turned to look at him and sadly said, "That's because you weren't there. You were working VCU during that time. You were usually gone before we got up and we were asleep by the time you got back."

"Yeah, that's right….." Victor narrowed his eyes and took the printout from Beth. He studied it closely and asked, "When was this game?"

"Martin was about ten years old so the year would be 1980. Why, did you think of the connection?" Beth looked at Victor hopefully.

Victor looked at her with a furrowed brow and appeared to be thinking. He turned back to the table and looked at Danny. "Do you have my case files from 1980?"

Danny looked at Victor before going through a large stack on the conference table. As her searched he looked at Victor and asked, "Do you remember any names? That might make this go faster."

"It was the Christopher Miller case." Victor replied.

Danny searched through the folders and pulled one out. "Here it is." He handed the folder to Victor.

He grabbed it and started flipping through the pages.

"What was the case?" Jack asked hoping that they made have found a connection worth pursuing.

Victor studied the file for a beat before looking up and saying, "It was one of the toughest cases of my life. I was in the bureau for almost ten years but I had just started in Violent Crimes. We were assigned the case of a pedophile serial that preyed on young boys between the ages of eight and eleven in the Arlington area. He had already molested and killed four boys when Christopher Miller went missing."

Victor pulled a photo out of the file and handed it to Jack. Christopher Miller was a sweet faced boy with blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. It was a Little League photo where they have the boy pose with a baseball bat as if they were really up to bat.

Jack handed the picture to Danny who took it and looked at it with Viv. He looked back at Victor and asked, "Did you catch the guy who did it?"

"Yes, his name was John Clarkson. He was a security guard at a local mini-mall. Unfortunately we didn't find him until after we found Chris' body." Victor rubbed his forehead and continued, "He had been dead for over 36 hours. I had worked in White Collar, Major Thefts and Public Corruption but I wasn't ready for the kinds of things you deal with in Violent Crimes. Plus, I made the classic rookie mistake of trying to comfort a parent and promising to find their child. Having to tell Chris' parents that he was dead was one of the hardest things I ever had to do." Victor pulled another photo of Christopher out of the file and added, "I just wanted to find that boy alive so badly. My ASAC even threatened to take me off the case claiming that I over empathized with the Miller's because Chris was the same age as Martin."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

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The team listened intently as Victor told the team the details of the case.

"Christopher Miller was an all American boy. He got good grades, was popular and athletic. He lived in an idyllic suburb in Arlington where the local boys would ride their bikes to school and everyone in the neighborhood seemed to know each other. He disappeared one sunny Saturday afternoon during a little league game. He told his coach that he had to use the restroom. The coach told him to hurry since the inning was almost over and Chris promised that he would but he never came back." Victor studied Chris' photo as he spoke.

"VCU had matched his profile to a series of murders of young boys in the areas and picked up the case. When I looked at the pictures of the young boys who had been found murdered and the newest missing boy all I could see was Martin. It was scary to think that there was a sick bastard doing this to young innocent boys so close to home." Victor tossed the file onto the table and ran his fingers over the stubble on his chin. "The parents, Jake and Jeanne Miller, were completely distraught that their only son, their only child, was missing. I completely related to them and desperately wanted to find their son. Jake begged me to find his son and bring him home and to my eternal regret I promised I would. It was a rookie mistake but I desperately wanted to find him."

Victor lowered his eyes and continued, "Almost four days had passed when we caught a lead. A young boy told his mom that a security guard had tried to take him out of the restroom the day before Chris' disappearance. This led us to John Clarkson, a security guard at a mini mall. I just knew he was the one. The little boy was able to positively identify him which allowed us to get a search warrant. His home was filled with paraphernalia and luckily Clarkson kept trophies from his victim's: a t-shirt, a jacket, a yo-yo, a football and Chris' baseball cap." He looked over at Jack. "Knowing that he was caught, Clarkson's lawyer wanted to make a deal. Take the death penalty off the table and he would tell them were Chris' body could be found. We decided that the Miller's would want to have their son's body returned so we made the deal.

"Chris' bruised and battered young body was found in an abandoned warehouse two miles from the ballpark where he disappeared. Telling the Miller's was one of the hardest days of his life. Jake Miller completely lashed out at me – he accused me of lying and breaking my promise. It got ugly and he physically attacked me while Jeanne just collapsed on the floor and wept."

They all processed the information for a moment when Jack asked, "Do you think this Clarkson is behind all of this?"

"I don't see how he could. He would be over 65 years old by now. Even if Martin was drugged, I don't see how he could move him without help." Victor replied as he swiveled in his seat to look directly at Jack.

Meanwhile, Sam walked over to her computer to look up John Clarkson. As the system ran a search she looked back over at Jack and Victor.

"It's still worth pursuing." Jack argued as he picked up the file and began flipping through it.

Sam's computer beeped indicating that the search was complete and she announced, "Okay, John Clarkson was released from the Virginia Correctional Institute in May 2003." Sam scrolled down the computer. "And he died in December 2004."

"Well, there goes that." Danny replied crestfallen.

"I don't know about that." Jack commented as he held up another picture included in the file. It was of Christopher and he was standing on a beach with a towel wrapped around him.

Victor picked up the printout of Martin on the lake and held it up next to the one of Chris. They were eerily similar.

Viv chimed in and said, "But if Clarkson is dead who could it be?"

Jack looked at Victor and said, "I think we should talk to Jeanne and Jake Miller."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

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_Martin hated flying coach because there was never enough room to stretch out and he was always crushed against the person sitting next to him. It was worse when he was stuck in the middle seat like he was today. It always ended up battle for the armrest and today was no different. He felt an elbow jab him in the forearm and he pushed back._

"_Hey, I'm just a girl!" Sam argued laughing as she bumped Martin in the shoulder with hers. "Besides, I'm still rehabilitating."_

"_Interesting…if I used any of those arguments on why I should give it to you, you would kick my ass but you are willing to use them to get YOUR way." Martin replied with one eyebrow cocked and tapping his index finger on his chin as if seriously thinking about what Sam said._

_She looked at him, smiled and said, "Come on, Martin, give me the armrest." She batted her eyelashes at him for extra effect.._

_For a split second he thought he was going to give it up. He didn't want to deny her anything but he also knew he was having too much fun arguing with her so he leaned in close to her face and said, "No."_

_There was a soft laugh on the other side of him and Martin turned to see the man who occupied the aisle seat. He looked at him and said, "Take my advice, give the armrest to your girlfriend."_

_It felt nice to have someone think that he and Sam were a couple but he also knew that he had to correct him since he was sure she didn't share his feelings, "She's not my girlfriend. She's my partner." Martin turned back to Sam and said, "And I'm not giving it up." _

_She shook her head and with a big smile she wheedled her elbow onto the armrest and Martin's arm was shoved aside. He knew that he didn't even try to fight her but he felt better for making her think she'd won. He threw her a dirty look and said, "Fine, you win, but this is a six hour flight and you are going to have to move eventually." _

_She just grinned and said, "So tell me about Vohland…."_

_A few hours later after he had debriefed Sam on the confidence man and lunch was eaten and cleared, Martin plugged in his headset to watch "Pirates of the Caribbean." Sam did the same and she leaned her head on his shoulder so she could see the monitor unobstructed. He tried to act nonchalant but the smell of hair and skin was very distracting. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes; mentally cataloguing her scent into his memory. When he opened them he saw the man seated next to him smiling like the Cheshire Cat. Martin quickly looked away and turned his attention back to the movie ignoring the chuckling of the man beside him. _

_As the film ended he looked down at Sam who snuggled up close to him and he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Her lips were slightly parted and he smiled when he saw that a fine sheen of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth – and onto to his shoulder. He hesitated to wake her, she looked so peaceful. He watched her for a little bit when the 'fasten seatbelts' light turned on and the pilot's voice came on the intercom to request that all passengers remain in their seats since they will be encountering turbulence. _

_Sam stirred and opened her eyes to find Martin looking back down at her amused. "I generally prefer women to drool when they think of me, not necessarily on me." _

_She leaned back up and sat straight in her chair. She wiped ineffectually on his shoulder and said, "Sorry."_

"_No worries." He shifted in his seat and facing forward added, "You'll be getting my dry cleaning bill in the mail."_

_Sam smiled and looked out the window. She was bathed in soft white light and looked absolutely beautiful. The plane started to jostle as they hit some turbulence. The plane started shaking more and more causing Martin to get really afraid; he had never been on a flight that was so bumpy. He was normally a great flyer but he suddenly started to break out into a sweat. He glanced around at all the other passengers who didn't seem notice at all. He glanced at Sam who turned to look at him and smiled as the plane around him shook apart. _

Martin jolted awake to find himself being bounced up and down as the car moved down a dirt road and the memory of his and Sam's flight to Palm Springs faded away. His head was pounding and he tried to find a more comfortable position but for a tall injured man tied up in a car trunk it was an impossible endeavor. He didn't know how long he was out but the pain in his side was now just throbbing constantly. He coughed lightly and prayed that the car would just stop already, consequences be damned. He just wanted out of the trunk and to be still.

The car drove on the bumpy road for about another mile or so when it came to a stop. He tried to suppress his coughing so he could listen but it didn't work. Suddenly the trunk popped open and a man he didn't recognize pointed a gun at him; in fact, it was his own gun.

Shit.

"I'm going to untie your feet. If you try and run away I will shoot you. Do you understand?" The man was about twenty eight years old, unshaven and had wide buggy eyes. Crazy eyes, Martin thought.

"Yes." Martin coughed out with his eyes moving back and forth between the 'Crazy Eyes' face and the gun pointed at him. He noticed that the man's shirt was bloody on the front.

"Good." 'Crazy Eyes' moved to untie his ankles while keeping his eyes and gun trained on Martin. He made quick work of it and moved back a few feet and said, "Get out of the trunk."

Martin looked at him and kicked his feet over the edge of the trunk. It was incredibly difficult to try and get out of a trunk when you're injured and your wrists bound. He struggled but couldn't do it. He started coughing again and muttered, "I can't. Not without being able to use my hands."

"Don't mess with me!" He moved around so Martin could see him again and waved the gun in his face.

"I'm not." Martin started coughing again. He could feel 'Crazy Eyes' watching him warily.

"Okay but I'm warning you, you try anything and I will shoot you." Martin coughed and nodded his head that he understood. 'Crazy Eyes' moved next to him and grabbed him by the elbows to help him out. He winced as his injured side hit the rim of the trunk but he bit his lip refusing to cry out.

Once Martin was standing, 'Crazy Eyes' turned him around and shoved him forward saying, "Start walking."

Martin did as he was told and walked. It was drizzling rain and he glanced down to see that he was still wearing his pajama pants, socks, and t-shirt but now there was a blood on his side where he ached. As he walked his socked feet started to get wet with the mud and his toes were getting cold.

He started coughing and he discovered that walking and coughing only intensified the pain. Swallowing his discomfort he looked around at his surroundings to see if he could spot any viable exit strategy but they were in a heavily wooded area that he didn't recognize. With his hands still tied behind his back and he was in less than fit condition he would just have to go along with whatever this guy had planned but keep an eye out for any opportunities. He decided to try and talk to him, "Where are we going?"

"Just keep walking and you'll see."

They walked for a bit more so Martin decided to try and talk to his captor. "You seem like a smart guy. If you are planning on asking for money my father will demand proof of life." He knew it was a gamble to bring up the subject that 'Crazy Eyes' may be intending to kill him.

"What are you talking about?" 'Crazy Eyes' asked with curiosity.

"He won't pay unless he is certain that I am alive." Martin replied seriously.

"Like what?" 'Crazy Eyes' asked.

"He'd want to talk to me, make sure I was okay." Martin scanned the area to look for signs of anyone else in the vicinity. No such luck. "Do you get what I'm telling you?"

"Shut up and keep walking." 'Crazy Eyes' uttered angrily.

Martin lowered his head and kept walking with 'Crazy Eyes' quiet the entire time. He prayed that he was rethinking his plan. As he walked he turned to glance back at him and saw that he looked like he was considering what he had said. As they continued on he heard what sounded like running water, a river maybe. They walked another ten yards and he spotted an open aqueduct.

"This is as far as we go." 'Crazy Eyes' directed. Martin stood perfectly still. "Turn around."

Martin let out a breath and turned around to find a gun pointed directly at his head.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

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Sam looked out the window and said, "It should be the third house on the right."

Jack slowed the car and pulled up in front of a beautiful colonial home in Stanford, Connecticut, the home of Jeanne Gellar. After talking to Victor the team did some research and discovered that Jake and Jeanne Miller divorced a year after Chris' death. Jeanne remarried and moved from Arlington to Connecticut three years later. Unfortunately Jake had been off the map for the last six months. No place of employment or residency. They hoped that Jeanne might be able to help them locate Jake.

Jack and Sam exited the car and headed up the sidewalk. Jack rang the bell and they waited. A moment later a woman with brown hair streaked with gray that was pulled back into a bun answered the door.

Jack held up his badge and said, "Mrs. Gellar?"

Jeanne looked at them questioningly and replied, "That's me, what is this about?"

"We'd like to ask you a few questions about your ex-husband, Jake Miller." Jack replied while Sam just stood back and waited for her to let them in. "Can we come in?"

She hesitated a moment and said, "Yes. Please come in." She motioned them inside. The living room was cluttered with books and clothes. "I apologize for the mess. My kids are home from college for the summer. They are still in dorm mode."

Sam and Jack took a seat on the sofa while Jeanne took a seat on the chair.

"What is going on with Jake? Is he okay?" Jeanne asked concerned.

"We are just trying to track him down." Jack replied before asking, "When was the last time you spoke to Jake?"

"Is this about Victor Fitzgerald or his son?" Jeanne asked nervously.

"Why would you ask about them?" Sam questioned. Obviously Jeanne knew something.

Jeanne sighed heavily and began, "I hadn't talked to Jake in over ten years but last February he called me out of the blue. He was drinking again and ranting….."

_Jeanne was in the kitchen getting a cup of coffee when the phone rang. She picked up the cordless phone and answered, "Hello?"_

"_Jeanne, it's me, Jake." His voice was slurred._

"_Jake, wow, it's been a long time." She knew that if he was calling her in the middle of the day drunk that he could not be in a good place. She didn't want to incite yet another argument with him so she tried to be pleasant. "How are you?"_

"_Did you hear the news?" _

_Jeanne sighed and asked, "What news?"_

"_The news about that boy who was kidnapped yesterday morning in front of the school in New York. They said that an FBI agent witnessed it but couldn't stop it." His voice began to rise to an angry level. "It was his son, the agent. It was Victor's son. He is just as incompetent as his father."_

"_Jake, stop it. I am tired of you blaming everything on Victor. It wasn't his fault." She was increasingly frustrated by Jake constantly placing all the blame on an agent who made the mistake of making a promise he couldn't keep. _

_Jake laughed mirthlessly, "It is his fault. He said he would find Chris but he didn't. He even made sure that Clarkson didn't have to face the death penalty. And now his son is as big a fuck up as he was."_

"_I read about that kidnapping. And I know that his son risked his life to get the boy back. He found the boy, safe and alive." _

"_Right, after he was held hostage for almost an entire day. And the kidnapper nearly killed them both."_

"_Jake, you are just seeing it the way you want to see it." She had long grown tired of Jake's obsession with Victor Fitzgerald and she was worried he was moving it over to his son. "Jake, you need to move on."_

"_What like you? Go off and get remarried, have other kids and pretend that Chris never existed?" He viciously accused._

"_How dare you say that I pretend Chris never existed? I think of him every single day. Just because I continued to live and accept that Chris was gone. Besides, I know that Chris knew I loved him." She knew that she had hit him below the belt but she was so tired of having this fight. _

_He was quiet for a little bit and she wondered if he was even still on the line, "I won't let his son continue to make the same mistakes as him."_

"_What does that mean?" _

"He hung up and that was it." Jeanne finished.

"Why didn't you report his threat?" Sam demanded. If Jeanne had reported it then Martin would be home; not in some madman's clutches, sick and injured.

"He had been making threats about Victor Fitzgerald for over twenty years. I thought he was drinking and venting and would sleep it off."

"But when we asked about him you immediately thought of Victor Fitzgerald." Jack asked; his tone cool and even.

Jeanne sighed and looked at Jack, "Victor has been in the paper a lot these last few weeks. I kept waiting for Jake to call me and complain."

"And you haven't heard from him since that last call?" Sam asked.

Jeanne shook her head and replied, "No."

"You said you told him that you knew that Chris knew you loved him. What was that about?" Jack asked.

"That was me being cruel. When we were married, Jake was very driven and he was a good provider but he wasn't around much. The day Chris disappeared it was a big baseball playoff game – his team was in the running for the Little League World Series. Chris had begged Jake to come and watch but Jake said he had a big work function that he had to attend so he couldn't go. Chris was heartbroken, he idolized Jake." Jeanne choked up and looked at a picture of Chris on the mantel. "Jake felt so guilty, like if he had been there he would have somehow prevented Chris from being taken. I think when he found out that Victor's son's team won the series it threw him over the edge."

Jack and Sam exchanged looks and Sam asked, "How did Jake know that Martin's team won?"

"Hang on and I'll show you." She walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a photo album labeled Chris. She flipped the pages and stopped at the last page. She moved over to the sofa and Sam scooted over so Jeanne could sit down. She pulled a newspaper clipping out of the album and showed it to them. "This was Chris' obituary." Sam looked at a grainy black and white photo of Chris' holding a bat along with the short article about a boy whose life was cut tragically short. Sam's heart raced when Jeanne flipped it over and there was Martin being carried off on the shoulders of his teammates with the headline, 'Georgetown Pirates Win World Series.'


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

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Jack took the clipping from Jeanne and said, "So in the same newspaper that had Jake's obituary published Martin's baseball victory on the other side. That had to be hard."

"Jake lost it. He and Victor had bonded over having sons the same age who loved baseball. I think that is why he wanted to believe in Victor so badly. He was so certain that Victor would find Chris." Jeanne took back the newspaper clipping and looked at it. "When he saw this he went on and on about how his son was dead and the son of the man he blamed went on to play the game Chris should have. I tried talking to him but it was no use."

As Jeanne put the clipping back in the album Sam asked, "Do you have any idea where Jake could be?"

"No. The last I heard he was still in Arlington working odd jobs where he could find them. But it was pretty unsteady – his drinking usually got in the way of keeping anything long term. He was mostly living off of his retirement pension."

Jack could relate to Jake – and Victor for that matter. He was constantly eaten up by the guilt of never having spent enough time with his daughters. He handed her his card and said, "Please call us if you hear from him."

Jeanne took the card and said, "You still haven't told me what this is all about."

Jack hesitated a moment before deciding that Jeanne should be aware in case Jake does call, "Victor's son, Martin, is missing."

"Oh my God." Jeanne put her hand to her mouth and looked away. "I know Jake was angry but I can't imagine he would ever hurt anyone."

"I hope you're right." Jack replied.

Jack and Sam headed back to the federal building and tossed around ideas on where Jake could be when Jack's cell phone rang, "Malone."

"Jack," Danny began anxiously, "I just talked to the doorman, Charlie, and he said that the other doorman, Joseph, who works the night shift hasn't shown up for work. I'm thinking he had access to Martin's place. Maybe he took a bribe or was an accomplice."

"Hang on," Jack put the cell phone on his shoulder and turned to Sam, "How well do you know Joseph?"

"The doorman at Martin's building?" Sam asked as Jack nodded his head. "Um, I don't know him that well. He wasn't that social, he was an older man and he had only worked there since last March…." Sam thought back and realized he started there shortly after Martin was in the news about the kidnapping. He was around the right age. She mentally tried to remember what he looked like: he was tall, skinny….but his face…. "Wait, where is the picture we have of Jake Miller?"

"In the file." Jack replied and nodded to the folder stuck in between the seat and emergency brake. Sam started searching through it. "Danny, you and Viv go to his apartment and look around. I'll call you right back."

Sam quickly pulled out the photo of Jake and studied it. If Jake Miller had lost some weight and aged nine years since the photo was taken it could very well be him. Sam cursed herself for not noticing it earlier. "Jack, I know where we can find Jake Miller."

"Where?"

Sam held up the photo and replied, "By finding Joseph Merrill."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

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Martin held his breath and waited as 'Crazy Eyes' stared him down, aiming the gun to his head. He didn't know if he was dizzy because of the situation or being sick or the fact that he had a pulsating wound that was oozing blood on his side.

"Here's what we are going to do: we are going to call your father." He slightly lowered the gun and pulled a cell phone from his jacket. "You will tell him you are fine and that you will stay that way as long as he agrees to pay me. You got it?"

Martin hesitated a moment feeling nauseous and faint but he tried to pull himself together and asked, "How do I know you won't kill me after I call?"

'Crazy Eyes' got a frustrated look on his face and said, "I just want to get paid. So if you do as I say, then you'll be fine." Martin remained quiet with an unsure look on his face. "Look over there." Crazy eyes waved the gun over to a small storage shed just to the side of the aqueduct. "I'm going to leave you there and then go collect my money. If daddy pays up then I'll tell them exactly where to find you. If you refuse to call your dad then I could just kill you now." He raised the gun again.

"Alright." Martin nodded again.

'Crazy Eyes' stepped closer to Martin and asked, "What's his phone number?"

Martin blew out a breath and replied, "843-555-3445."

'Crazy Eyes' dialed the number and held it to his ear, keeping a gun trained on Martin the entire time. Martin could hear the phone ring once, twice and then his father's voice come on the line.

"Fitzgerald." Martin noticed that he sounded stressed and he immediately knew that his father knew he had been kidnapped.

"If you ever want to see your son alive again you will do as I say. I want one million dollars by noon tomorrow. I will call you at 11:30 am for further instructions. Do you understand?"

"I understand but I want to talk to my son. I won't do anything until I am sure he is alright." Victor's voice was firm.

'Crazy Eyes' looked at Martin and gave him a look indicating that he should do as he was instructed. He held the phone to Martin's ear while keeping the gun trained on him.

"Dad, it's me." Martin tried to sound cool but he knew that he was failing miserably.

"Martin, are you okay? Are you hurt son?" Victor's voice was almost panicked. Martin had never heard him sound so worried.

"I'm fine." Martin started coughing, partly because he had too and partly to stall for time and give them a chance to trace the call if possible. He could hear his father asking what was going on, sounding distressed. He stopped coughing, looked at 'Crazy Eyes' and added, "Tell Bonnie not to worry. Just pay him and I'll come out smelling like a rose."

"That's enough." 'Crazy Eyes' muttered as he took the phone back. Martin could hear his father shouting when he turned off the phone and waved the gun at him, "Turn around and continue walking, head for the storage shed."

Martin did as he was instructed and moved towards the shed. He stumbled forward and stopped right in front of the small box like structure.

Keeping the gun aimed at him, 'Crazy Eyes' pulled some keys out of his pocket and unlocked the padlock. He swung the door open and stepped back. He pointed the gun directly at Martin's chest and said, "Get in. And don't get any wise ideas about screaming. There isn't anyone around for miles."

Martin wondered what would happen if he just rushed 'Crazy Eyes' but he also knew he was feeling really woozy and sick. He mentally calculated his odds and decided that he better just do as he was told. He moved into shed which was virtually empty with the exception of some hoses and bags of sand. Martin turned and looked back at 'Crazy Eyes' in time to for the door to slam shut. He could hear the lock being refastened. He knew that he should start looking for a way out of there but he was too exhausted. So instead, he closed his eyes, slumped against the wall, slid to floor and waited for the Calvary to arrive.

_Martin blessed his luck that he was able to find a parking spot right in front of Sam's brownstone. He turned off the ignition and looked over at Sam who was dozing lightly in the passenger seat. He stepped out of the car and moved around to open her door. _

_She opened her eyes and Martin said, "We're home." He leaned across her and unbuckled her seat belt then moved back to help her out of the car. Holding her hand and her waist, she moved slowly as he led her up the stairs. _

_He unlocked her apartment door and helped her inside. When he finally got her to the bedroom he had her sit on the bed and he started to take off her clothes. She looked at him with sleepy eyes and mumbled, "Not tonight babe, I have a headache." _

"_Damn. I guess I'll just go home." He gave her a gentle smile and asked, "Do you need another pill?"_

"_No. Whatever they gave me feels pretty darn good." She gave him a small smile. Her face was swollen and bruised; it hurt just to look at her. _

_He finished undressing her and moved her under the covers. She reached out and squeezed his hand gratefully and closed her eyes. He stripped off his clothes and got into bed beside her. He lay on his side and looked at Sam sleeping. He needed reassurance that she was still here alive, with him, so he scooted closer and laid his arm over her belly to feel it rise and fall with every breath. _

_A few hours later he awoke when the morning sunlight filtered through the windows. Opening his eyes he saw that Sam was slowly waking up too. Her eyes fluttered open and he saw her wince. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at her. He reached over with his free hand, brushed the hair away from her face and asked, "How do you feel?"_

_She rolled her head over to look at him and said, "Miserable, everything hurts."_

"_Do you want some Tylenol?" Martin asked._

_Sam closed her eyes and nodded her head. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to get a glass of water. He came back with the water and pills and sat on the edge of the bed on Sam's side. He loved that they both had their own 'sides' of the bed. _

"_Here you go." _

_She leaned up and took the medication. She lay back down and said, "Thank you." He put the water on the nightstand when she added, "And thanks for saving my life again. I guess this is the second one I owe you. You always seem to get there in time." _

_Martin smiled at her, remembering the last time she thanked him for saving her life and replied, "Your welcome."_

_He was rewarded with a grin and she asked, "What time is it?"_

_Martin glanced at the clock and said, "6:45"_

"_Can you be late for work?" Sam reached out to hold his hand and he nodded his head. He moved over her onto the other side of the bed. She rolled over so he could spoon her from behind. She grabbed his arm so it was wrapped tightly around her. He kissed the crown of her head and closed his eyes thankful that she was still here for him to hold. _

Martin opened his eyes and wished that Sam was there to comfort him now. He tilted his head back and quietly said, "It's your turn Sam. Save my life."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

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"No, wait! I want to talk to my son!" Victor yelled as he gripped the cell phone so tight that his knuckles turned white. The line went dead and he muttered, "Damn it."

"What did he say Victor?" Beth met his eyes and looked at him pleadingly. "How is he, Victor? How did he sound?"

"He said he's fine. He sounded strong."

"What did the man who took him say?" Beth was trying to sound calm but Victor recognized the panicked tone underneath.

"He wants one million dollars by noon tomorrow and Martin won't get hurt." Any further... he omitted. Fortunately, Victor had anticipated that it might boil down to ransom so he had already started the process to liquidate assets.

Beth stared him down and asked, "Do you believe him?"

"Yes, I do." Victor sighed and pulled Beth close around him and hugged her tightly. He held her for a few brief seconds before pulling back and saying, "I have to go see if the tech can trace the call. I'll be right back."

She nodded her head that she understood and he walked out of the break room and hurried down the hall to the tech room. As soon as he turned the corner to head down the hall he saw a flurry of activity in the room and he realized that they knew he had gotten the phone call. Before he left Washington, he arranged to have all his calls traced and recorded when possible.

He entered the tech room and said, "Please tell me you got something."

Mac looked up and said, "Not exactly. It was from a cell phone but I am trying to locate which cell tower it was using. That will get us in the vicinity of the call."

Mac started typing away trying to trace the call, Victor walked to the other side of the room and picked up the phone and dialed.

"Malone." Jack answered.

"Jack, the kidnapper called. He wants one million dollars by noon tomorrow." Victor breathed out.

"Were you able to talk to Martin?" Jack asked.

"Yes, he said he's fine but I think he lied." Victor remembered how pained Martin's voice sounded even when he was trying to be brave.

"How do you know? What did he say exactly?"

"He said, 'I'm fine. Tell Bonnie not to worry. Just pay him and I'll come out smelling like a rose.' His aunt died last year so I'm sure there was so hidden message in there. I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"Okay, well keep working on it. We are on our way back to the city – we should be there in about twenty minutes."

The two men hung up and Victor turned back to Mac, "Anything yet?"

Mac looked at him defeated and said, "No. He is using an encrypted cell phone. It's bouncing off of several satellites and cell towers. It's impossible to trace."

"So there is no way to know from where that call was placed."

"I'm sorry, Sir." Mac gave him a feeble smile and added, "But I was able to record the call and we can see if we can get anything off of it that might indicate his whereabouts."

"Get to work on it. Thank you." Victor walked out and headed straight for the men's room. When he entered he walked to the stall at the farthest end and carefully closed the door to make sure it was locked. He placed the palms of his hands on the wall, closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cool tiled wall.

_Victor entered the quiet house and made his way up the stairs. Martin's bedroom door was slightly ajar and he could see the lamp next to his bed was still lit. He walked slowly and peeked inside. Beth was sitting at the foot of Martin's bed as he slept. His right arm was in a cast and he had a big bruise on his cheek. He looked so tiny even though he was pretty tall for a seven year old. _

"_Good, you're finally home." Beth remarked as Victor moved inside the room. _

"_The case just wrapped up. How is he?" Victor leaned over Martin to study his face. There was a big gash on his hairline that was stitched up. His face was streaked with dried tears. _

"_The doctor said he is going to be fine. He had to have six stitches on his head but he doesn't have a concussion. He broke his arm and will have to wear a cast for six weeks. The doctor said it was a clean break and should heal fine." She looked at Martin and added, "He fell asleep about an hour ago. He wanted to wait up for you."_

_Victor looked down at his injured son. He and his friends were playing on the jungle gym and he fell off. Beth had called him to come to the hospital but he was in the middle of a big case and couldn't get away. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to the hospital…"_

_Beth sighed and angled her head so she could look directly at Victor. Her voice was soft but laced with bitterness as she said, "He fell onto pavement, Victor. He could have cracked open his skull and died."_

"_He's got a hard head like his dad." Victor commented trying to diffuse the situation._

"_Don't. Don't try and be funny. I needed you today Victor. Martin needed you." Beth pursed her lips and added, "It's hard enough that you aren't around for all the good stuff. But if you can't even be there during a crisis…."_

"_I was in the middle of an investigation, besides you told me that you thought he was going to be okay." Victor argued. _

"_You have five agents on your team. Couldn't they handle things for a few hours so you could come and see your son?" Beth retaliated. She looked at Martin's sleeping form and added, "It might not hurt me so much if he didn't always ask for you, wonder when you are coming home, wanting to wait up late just to talk to you for a few minutes. God knows why but he idolizes you Victor considering how you never seem to be around." _

"_I'm sorry about that." Victor exhaled a breath and said, "You knew what the deal was when you married me Beth, you knew what I wanted for my career. Besides, I'm doing this for all of us. You have to think of it in the long term."_

"_I know." She looked up at him and said, "I just hope in the end you still think it was worth it."_

Victor leaned back up and stepped out of the stall. He walked back to the tech room determined to not let his son down again.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

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Viv and Danny made their way up the third floor walk-up to meet with Jake Miller aka Joseph Merrill. Jack called Danny en-route to let them know that Sam suspected that the two men were one and the same and to use extreme caution. Viv called up local NYPD and other agents to assist at the scene.

Danny stopped at the door and knocked as if he were just there paying a social call. There was no need to arouse suspicion if it could be helped.

No answer.

Danny knocked again but it was still quiet. He exchanged a look with Viv who approached and slid the key the landlord gave them into the lock. Danny pulled out his weapon and nodded for her to open the door. She pulled out her own gun and pushed the door open. It creaked as it opened into a dingy sparse studio apartment that in one quick cursory glance they knew that nobody was home.

Danny walked over to the desk in the corner. On top of the desk was a Mac G5 computer, scanner, a telephoto camera and other random bits of technology that he didn't recognize. Sitting next to the monitor was a big stack of files. He picked up one of the manila folders and opened it. Inside were other surveillance photos of Martin.

"Come check this out." He commented as he continued to flip through the photos. Viv came up alongside him and peered over his arm to look at what he held. As he continued looking through the photos he found a lot of photos of Martin and Sam; laughing as they walked down a busy sidewalk, eating dinner in restaurant, sitting on her front stoop drinking coffee and reading the paper, and a slew of others.

"Looks like he has been following Martin around for a while." Viv said with a frown.

"Yeah, I think we found out who took Martin. Now we just have to figure out where he had him." Danny replied as he glanced around the tiny apartment.

"At least now we have a place to start looking." Viv pulled out her cell phone and said, "Mac, we need you to come down here and check out this computer..."

While the other agents started searching the apartment for clues Danny flipped through the photos once again. In each photo there was solid visual evidence of the deterioration of Martin and Sam's relationship. It was almost as if you lined them up you could see each of them grow more and more unhappy. He remembered when he first started to notice the increasing tension around them. It was the case with the missing psychic.

_The tech had just shown him the video footage from outside the store of Agnes being taken into the van. He walked into the bullpen to get Sam and Martin but as he neared he could see them standing close together and it was obvious by their body language that they were fighting. He wanted to turn away but he also knew that they both said that their relationship wouldn't and shouldn't interfere with the work._

_After he intervened on their fight and showed them the video, Sam said she wanted to go talk to the psychic again to discuss their recent findings. Martin and Danny headed back to the bullpen to update the board and talk to Jack. _

_Martin was frowning as they slowly made their way back to the bullpen. He looked frustrated._

"_So, how are things?" Danny asked trying to sound casual._

_Martin gave him an irritated look and said, "Fine."_

"_Look, I'm trying to be your friend here. You can either mope around here like some sad dog licking his wounds or you can just tell me what's going on and I can offer you my valuable relationship advice."_

_Martin stopped dead in his tracks and looked at him, "When was the last time you had a date much less a relationship?"_

"_I've had plenty of relationships." Danny replied as Martin looked at him skeptically. "That's why I can offer good advice. I have many frames of reference." _

"_Yeah, well I doubt you've had one like mine and Sam's." Martin kept walking as he shook his head and said, "I just don't know what to do anymore. Everything I do is wrong or annoys her."_

"_Yeah, that sounds like a relationship." Danny agreed. They headed down the hall and approached the doors to the bullpen._

_Martin slowed down as they neared and softly said, "I just don't know if it's worth it anymore. I can't seem to make her happy no matter how hard I try and the more I try and it doesn't work, the unhappier I get. She just keeps pushing me away and I'm almost ready to just let her."_

"_Oh." Danny replied. The situation was worse than he thought. He had hoped they were fighting over something trivial like leaving wet towels on the bathroom floor. He didn't understand how they could be falling apart. They seemed so right together. _

"_Oh? That's your advice." Martin looked at him with a raised eyebrow and added, "Hmph. I think it's safe to say that Lisa Harris doesn't have any competition."_

_Martin walked in ahead of him. He tried to think of what kind of advice he could offer when he spotted Jack standing at the board looking over the notes they had added._

Danny closed the file folder and put it back on the stack. Now was not the time to worry about his friend's relationship. Martin had a bigger problem right now. He picked up the phone and called Jack to let him know what they found.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

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Sam's heart was racing as she listened to Jack talk to Victor. The moment she heard Jack say, "Were you able to talk to Martin?" she felt a rush of adrenaline. She leaned forward to look at Jack's face, her eyes pleading to hear any news of Martin. Jack glanced at her quickly but then continued talking to Victor. She wanted any news that would assure her that Martin was alive.

She listened to Jack's responses and wondered what Victor was telling him. "How do you know? What did he say exactly? Okay, well keep working on it. We are on our way back to the city – we should be there in about twenty minutes." Jack clicked off the phone and turned to Sam. "We got a call for ransom but the good news is Victor talked to Martin."

"How was he? What did he say?" Jack's eyes darted away from Sam so she immediately knew that something was wrong. "What is it Jack? Why did you want to know exactly what he said?"

"Victor said that Martin told him he was fine but he thinks he was lying because of what he said. That there was hidden message and he is just trying to decipher it."

"What did he say?"

Jack released a breath and said, "He said, 'I'm fine. Tell Bonnie not to worry. Just pay him and I'll come out smelling like a rose." As he placed the cell phone on the console her glanced at her and said, "I don't suppose you know what that means?"

Sam leaned back and replied, "No but for some reason I think I should."

A short while later Sam and Jack exited the elevator and strode determinedly to the tech room. Danny had called to let them know that Sam was right that Jake Miller and Joseph Merrill were one and the same. Unfortunately he also said that there was no sign of Jake or Martin.

When they entered the room they found Victor huddled alongside Mac. He looked tired and worn and he had his hands clasped and pressed to his lips like he was praying. Suddenly a scratchy man's voice filtered into the room.

"If you ever want to see your son alive again you will do as I say. I want one million dollars by noon tomorrow. I will call you at 11:30 am for further instructions. Do you understand?"

He sounded gruff and unhinged. The uneven tone of his voice sent a chill up Sam's spine. He was clearly unstable and that could be a big problem.

"I understand but I want to talk to my son. I won't do anything until I am sure he is alright." Victor replied. His voice sounded so different from how Sam knew it. It was filled with a father's fear for his child.

"Dad, it's me." Martin. Sam didn't realize how precious that voice was to her.

"Martin, are you okay? Are you hurt son?"

"I'm fine." Martin started coughing for a bit of time. Sam wondered how much of it was staged to give them time to trace the call or simply because he was genuinely sick. "Tell Bonnie not to worry. Just pay him and I'll come out smelling like a rose."

Hearing the words come from Martin stirred something in Sam but she couldn't quite place it.

Jack cleared his throat and looked at Victor. "Any luck?"

Victor stood up and shook his head, "No. I keep trying to figure out what he was trying to tell me but nothing comes to mind. I have Beth working on it too but so far she is drawing a blank too."

Jack nodded his head. "What is the plan? Bureau policy is not to…."

"Negotiate with terrorists." Victor looked at Jack hard before adding, "We aren't negotiating for an agent's life. I am father trying to get his son back. I've already started getting the funds ready."

Jack nodded his head and said, "Right."

"I think I have something." Mac interrupted the two men who hurried to his side. "If I filter out their voices I can hear something."

Mac replayed the call and the sound of rushing water could be heard.

"It sounds like a river." Victor guessed.

"That is going to be hard to narrow down in the state of New York." Mac conjectured.

Victor lowered his head before looking back up at Jack and saying, "Let's talk about how to prepare for the drop."

As the two men began to plan for the ransom drop, Sam sat down on the chair on the other end of the room and closed her eyes. Once she heard the water something clicked in her mind so she sat down to try and focus. Slowly the memory of her visiting Martin's apartment began to rise to the surface….

_Sam was on top of Martin's bed lying on her stomach. She finished up her paperwork before him so he gave her the key to his apartment and told her he'd meet her at his place. When she had arrived she went to his bedroom to change clothes and found his photo album on his nightstand. She kicked off her shoes and started to look through it. She opened it to the first page and there was a picture of Martin with his fraternity from college. He was surrounded by a big group of guys and there was a house behind them that had a Greek symbol. She laughed at how young he looked with his hair all curly and floppy. _

_It was a photo album that was clearly organized by a man. He just stuck pictures in here and there with no clear timeline. On one page he was in college and on the next he was in elementary school. It was frustrating but she had to give him props for actually putting them in an album at all. _

_She was laughing at a picture of Martin when he was a little baby lying on a rug with his bum exposed when she heard him walking down the hall. She wondered if he minded her looking at his album when she decided she didn't care. _

"_Good, I see the key worked." Martin commented as he entered the bedroom loosening his tie. He leaned over and kissed her. "Hey." _

"_Hey." Sam smiled. "I hope you don't mind my looking at your album."_

"_No, I don't put the incriminating photos in an album." He smirked as he sat down next to her and took off his shoes. _

"_Oh, and pray tell, where do you put those?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow._

_He stopped what he was doing and looked directly at her and said, "I'll never tell."_

_She gave a light laugh and went back to looking at the photos. "Why did you have this out anyway? Feeling nostalgic?"_

"_One of my old frat brothers called yesterday and we got into a debate about which summer we went backpacking across the country so I had to pull out the album to check the date on the back of the photo." Martin took off his tie and lay down next to her. He propped his chin on her shoulder and added, "I was right of course." _

_Sam smiled and continued looking at the photos. Sometimes she would ask about a particular photo or he would volunteer a comment if a funny memory was attached. She stopped and looked at the photo of Martin around seven or eight. He was standing on a pier looking wet and cold with a big beach towel wrapped around him. He had a wide smile and his two front teeth were missing. _

"_Where was this one taken?" He looked so sweet and innocent in that photo._

_He looked at it and gave a sad smile. "That was at my Uncle Roger's family cabin on Quechee Lake in Vermont. Whenever they took me up there I would strip off all my clothes and run straight to the end of the pier and dive right in. The water was always really cold but I didn't care. I spent so many summers there until they sold it. I still miss it." He flipped the album a few pages to a picture of a cabin. "It was a genuine log cabin complete with an outhouse. You know one of those tiny box-like structures complete with a cut out half moon on the door." Sam's face crunched up like she was imagining the smell of it when he added, "It actually didn't smell that bad because Bonnie hung bunches and bunches of dried flowers all along the ceiling. Roger used to say that they had the only outhouse where no matter how deep the shit you would always came out smelling like a rose."_

Sam opened her eyes and said out loud, "I think I know what Martin was trying to tell us."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

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Jack and Victor stopped talking and turned to look at Sam. Victor took a step towards her and asked, "What do you mean you know?"

"I think I might know." Sam replied, suddenly feeling incredibly self conscious.

"What do you think you might know?" Jack asked.

"I heard him use the phrase, 'come out smelling like a rose' before. He told me about spending time at his uncle's cabin where there was an outhouse. His aunt Bonnie used to hang flowers from the ceiling of the outhouse and his uncle Roger would say, 'they had the only outhouse where no matter how deep the shit you would always came out smelling like a rose.' I think he was telling us he was near water and maybe in a cabin or shed…." Sam trailed off suddenly realizing that she probably should have thought it through further before sharing.

Victor considered what she said and then added, "Well, based on Mac's findings we do know he was near water but it still doesn't help us narrow down his location."

"Actually it might." Mac interjected as the three of them turned to look at him. "My cousin Walt works for the Parks and Recreation and he told me that when they are doing construction or maintenance on tunnels, aqueducts, etc. they set up small trailers or sheds to hold supplies."

Jack studied Mac for a beat before turning to Sam and Victor, "We can get a list of the locations where they are working and look into it." He looked pointedly at Sam and said, "When Danny and Viv get back the three of you start looking into potential areas and also check to see if Jake Miller has any connection to a cabin. Check Parks and Rec employee records, too." He looked back at Victor and said, "In the meantime, I think we should continue preparing for the ransom drop."

Victor nodded and said, "I'll go call my banker and check on his progress. Agent Spade, I'm glad that you could figure out what Martin was trying to tell us. It's good that Martin has someone who knows him so well and he can count on." He gave her a sad smile before he turned and walked out of the room. As she watched him walk away she couldn't help but think he seemed disappointed that he wasn't the one who figured it out.

"Jack, do you want me to hang out here?" Mac rolled his chair back and stood up. "Viv called and asked me to go check out Jake Miller's computer at his apartment. I told her I'd leave as soon as I finished up here."

Sam glanced at Mac and smiled. She knew that he and Martin got along really well. At heart Martin was a bit of a computer nerd and liked keeping up on the newest technology so he and Mac would often hang out and talk about the latest advances in the field.

"Call her and have someone bring the computer here. I want you to keep working on that phone call and see if you can find out anything that could be useful." Jack directed and Mac nodded his head as he reached for the phone.

"I'll just go get a list of places to start looking." Sam commented to Jack as he moved to the door.

Jack eyed her carefully before replying, "Good. I really hope your guess is right." He exited and walked to his office. He didn't say the words but Sam knew what he meant: if Martin's hint wasn't about being held captive in a cabin or shed than maybe all he was trying to tell them was that he was in deep shit.

Sam walked back to the bullpen and started researching possible places Martin could be held. She glanced at the clock on her computer screen and saw that it was a little after two in the morning. Her headache was still lingering so she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of Excedrin. She downed the pills with the last of her cold coffee and put her elbows on her desk as she rubbed her temples. She opened her eyes and saw that the computer program was still conducting its search so she stood up and went off in search of a fresh cup of coffee in the break room.

Coffee mug in hand she entered the break room and found Elizabeth Fitzgerald sitting at one of the tables looking at the pictures from the email video. She looked up and gave Sam a smile.

"Hello." Sam greeted as she walked over to the coffee machine to fill her cup with the hot brown liquid.

"Hello." Beth put down the photo she was holding. "I cannot seem to stop looking at these, thinking I can make some connection or find some clue. I think it makes me feel like I am not entirely useless."

Sam poured cream into her coffee and said, "It's good. You never know, you might remember some detail that could be very important."

Beth glanced at Sam, "Victor told me that you might have figured out what Martin was trying to tell us. That's good, you're quite clever. I can see why Martin is so fond of you."

Sam was unsure if Beth meant as co-workers or about their relationship so she decided to answer equally vague and replied, "I'm fond of him, too."

Beth nodded solemnly and said, "It's a shame things didn't work out between you and Martin but it's good to know that you are still friends."

"Yeah, it is." Sam waved her hand in the direction of the bullpen and stepped back. "I better get back to work."

"Yes, of course." Beth replied.

Sam gave her a small forced smile and hurried out of the room. She was not expecting the word, 'friend' to feel like a punch to the gut. It felt as painful as being called the 'ex-girlfriend.' As she headed down the hall her stomach turned as she realized that she spent so much time keeping her relationship with Martin a secret in order to avoid being labeled the office slut that she never took the time to consider what the other labels she would get as a result or how she would like them a lot less.

She was walking back down the hall when the elevator doors slid open and Danny and Viv exited. He was carrying a CPU while Viv was holding a medium cardboard box.

"Hey." Danny as he shifted the CPU in his arms to get a better grip.

"Is that the stuff from Jake Miller's apartment?" Sam asked as she got into step alongside them.

"Yeah, I'm just going to take it over to Mac for him to analyze." Danny said as he continued further down the hall to the tech room.

Sam and Viv headed into the bullpen and each updated the other on what they learned. It felt like definite progress was being made. Sam glanced at her computer and saw that so far not hits had been found so she opened up the box and started looking through the contents.

She found a big stack of folders and said, "Are these the surveillance photos of Martin that Danny mentioned?"

Viv stopped and looked at Sam as she said, "Yeah, but they aren't just of Martin."

Sam eyed her as she opened up the folder. She flipped through the photos and realized what Viv meant. There were so many photos of her and Martin that were taken without their knowledge. It was creepy to see her and Martin living their life only to now know that someone was watching them without their knowledge. She stopped at a photo of her and Martin as they walked down the sidewalk. It had been one of the days near the end of their relationship when all they did was fight. She didn't want to argue with him but she felt increasingly defensive and self-conscious around him and it manifested itself in her being increasingly irritable.

"_So what do you want to do tonight?" Sam asked as they headed to her apartment. He had to park his car two blocks away but fortunately it was a warm spring night so the walk was actually quite nice. They walked side by side not touching since Martin had tried to hold her hand and she pretended to busy herself by trying to find her house keys._

"_I don't know, maybe we could go out to dinner?" Martin offered trying to sound casual but Sam knew that what he was really hinting at: now that everyone on the team knew about them he wanted to start venturing out more and officially go public. _

_Sam tilted her head as if considering when she turned to him and said, "I'm kind of tired. How about we just order in?"_

_Out of the corner of her eye she could see Martin's jaw clench before he said, "It's never going to be the right time for you is it?" _

"_Martin, it's not that, I'm tired." Sam replied as they neared her front stoop. _

"_Yeah, I can know how exhausting a long day of doing paperwork can be." Martin replied angrily. He stopped and said, "Sam, what is it? I thought it would be easier for us now that everyone at work now knows about us but instead it's just gotten worse. You want to hide even more now." _

"_Martin, that's not true. Can't I just be tired?" She pulled out her keys as they moved up the steps to her front door. She put the key in the lock and moved inside but Martin didn't follow. "Are you coming in or not?"_

_He looked at her with narrowed eyes and said, "You know, since you're so tired I think I'll just go home. Let you get some rest." And then he turned around and went down the steps. _

"_Martin….." Sam began but he was halfway down the sidewalk and if did hear her he chose to ignore it. It drove her crazy when he ran away from her like some petulant child who didn't get his way so she refused to chase after him and slammed her door shut._

Sam looked at the photo and sighed. She flipped to the next photograph and there was a picture of Martin as he walked away from her and down the steps. He looked so sad and it squeezed Sam's heart to see his disappointment in her, in them. She suddenly felt very guilty and closed the folder unable to look at the documented evidence of her relationship falling apart. She put the folder on the table and walked back to her computer with renewed vigor. She was going to find Martin and let him know just what he means to her.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

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"Wake up." Martin's eyes slit open and he saw 'Crazy Eyes' standing in the doorway. He must have fallen asleep sometime during the night because his kidnapper was outlined in the soft blue light of dawn. "Come on, get up. I have an idea."

Martin opened his eyes fully and moved to sit up, wincing as white hot pain shot through his body. His back, arms, shoulders…..actually his entire body felt stiff, achy and painful. The cold wet morning air and the angle of his position strained all of his muscles. He was slumped on a bag of sand and with each movement it aggravated the pain. He felt sweaty and miserable and all he wanted was to be home in bed.

"Hurry up." 'Crazy Eyes' demanded.

"I'm trying." Martin replied angrily. 'Crazy Eyes' looked at him and leaned against the door waiting but not helping. Martin finally was able to sit up and he met his captor's eyes.

"I need to be far away from here when I call your father for the ransom drop but in case he wants some proof I am going to take a quick video bit to send him." 'Crazy Eyes' pulled out his cell phone and a newspaper. "I want you to say you are fine and that he has to pay me if he ever wants to see you again." He tossed the newspaper onto Martin's lap and started to aim the cell phone camera.

"No." Martin replied firmly.

'Crazy Eyes' lowered the camera and gave Martin a hard look, "What do you mean no?"

"I need to take a leak. I won't talk until I do." Martin knew that he was taking a big risk in making a demand but he also knew that this was the only moment he was in a position to negotiate.

'Crazy Eyes' just glared at him and pulled his gun out from behind his back. He pointed it at Martin and in an agitated tone said, "I could just kill you now, how about that?"

"We both know my father won't pay without some proof." Martin knew he was walking on shaky ground. He swallowed and added, "I don't think I am asking for much."

'Crazy Eyes' looked him over before saying, "If you try anything…."

Martin started coughing and shook his head. After a moment he replied, "I won't."

'Crazy Eyes' took a step back and nodded for Martin to step out of the shed. Martin took a deep breath and leaned forward so that he could get on his knees for some leverage before standing up. He moved slowly out of the shed and saw the pink sky indicating the start of a new day. As he walked slowly to the trees with 'Crazy Eyes' behind him his eyes darted around looking for any signs of life but all he could see were more trees. He didn't even hear a highway. He stopped in front of a tree and turned around. "I can't do this with my hands tied behind my back."

'Crazy Eyes' nodded his head and out of his back pocket pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "Turn around and get down on your knees."

Martin hesitated a moment but did as instructed. 'Crazy Eyes' came up behind him and he could feel the gun barrel digging into the back of his skull. "Don't try anything or I will blow your head off." 'Crazy Eyes' started pulling on the cords and Martin could feel them loosening before completely falling away when suddenly he felt the cold metal of the handcuffs snap around his right wrist. "I want you to move your arms back around to your front slowly and fastened the handcuff to your other wrist."

Martin's arms tingled like millions of tiny little pins were poking at him as the blood rushed back to his arms and shoulders. He moved his hands slowly to his front and snapped the handcuff to his other wrist. 'Crazy Eyes' took a step back and the gun barrel move off of the back of his head as he ordered for Martin to stand up.

Martin stood up a little too quickly and instantly felt dizzy. He leaned against the tree for a few seconds so he could get his bearings when 'Crazy Eyes' said, "Hurry up. And remember: no tricks."

Martin closed his eyes and mentally pulled himself together. He opened his eyes and took a step back so he could urinate. Once he was done, he turned back around to face 'Crazy Eyes'.

"Let's go." 'Crazy Eyes' waved the gun between Martin and the shed. They walked slowly back and Martin tried to think of some kind of useful clue he could use when he talked on the video but he was so exhausted and miserable that nothing came to mind.

When he entered the shed he sat on a sandbag and sighed heavily.

"Pick up the paper and hold it so that he can see it." 'Crazy Eyes' ordered so Martin picked up the paper and saw that it was today's _New York Times_. He held it in front of him. 'Crazy Eyes' picked up the cell phone camera and said, "Okay, now we are going to do it just like I say…."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Sam and Danny were calling all over the state of New York to try and find out where the construction sites were located while Viv had gone to take a quick nap on Jack's sofa. So far they were having zero luck and it seems that Mac was having as hard a time hacking to Jake's computer. He had the finest firewalls up and an encrypted system that if the wrong password was entered more than three times his hard drive would erase all files.

They needed to catch a break and they needed it to happen soon. Sam rubbed her weary eyes and reached for the phone to make yet another call when she heard Jack approach.

"Any luck?" Jack asked with his eyes on Sam.

She shook her head while Danny's expression was equally disappointed. Sam swiveled around in her chair so she could face Jack. "Are we all set for the ransom drop?"

"I have four mobile units ready to roll when we get the call." Jack leaned on the edge of Sam's desk. "It's just hard when we don't know where it's going to be. You look a mess, go get some sleep. I need you to be on top of your game."

Sam shook her head and replied, "I can't sleep, not until he's home."

Jack's cell phone rang. Keeping his eyes on her pressed 'Talk' and answered, "Malone. When?" Sam and Danny could tell by Jack's tone that this was an important phone call so Sam kept her gaze on him while Danny got up and moved towards them. "You did? That's great, give it to me." Jack reached over and picked up a pen from Sam's desk wrote down a phone number on a file folder. "Can you hold for a second? Thanks." He put the phone on his shoulder and said to Sam, "It's Jeanne Gellar. She said that she just got a phone call from Jake. Danny, this is the number he called from; track it down and tell me where it came from. Sam, go find Victor." Sam did want to walk away but she knew that Victor needed to hear this so with her heart racing she stood up to find Martin's parents. As she walked away she glanced back at Jack who put the phone back up to his ear and said, "Jeanne, tell me exactly what he told you."

Sam hurried down the hall and found Victor and Beth in the break room sitting closely together and talking in hushed voices at the table. They obviously didn't hear her come in so she cleared her throat to get their attention. They looked at her and she said, "We have a lead on Jake Miller."

They quickly jumped out of their seats as Victor asked, "Where is he?"

"I don't know. Jack's on the phone with his ex-wife." Sam replied as they walked down the hall to the bullpen.

Jack was still on the phone and said, "How soon can you get down here? Okay, see you then." He clicked off the phone and turned to the look at them.

"What did she say?" Victor asked.

Sam's stomach clenched as she waited for Jack to speak.

"She said that Jake called her early this morning. He was drunk and rambling so she didn't really understand him but he sounded really frantic." Jack paused a second and Sam knew that he was formulating the best way to give someone bad news.

"What Jack? What else?" Sam asked nervously.

"She said right before he hung up he told her that everything went wrong." Jack breathed out watching Victor and Beth closely.

"We got him!" Danny announced as he hurried back into the bullpen. "We traced the number to the Garden Court Motel in New Jersey."

Sam was already at the elevator by the time the rest of the team joined her.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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A short while later, the team was in place at the Garden Court Motel with Jack, Sam, Viv and Danny positioned outside the door. Victor had wanted to join them but Jack insisted that he remain in the car because if Jake saw him it might set him off. Victor reluctantly agreed and sat in the passenger seat looking frustrated and anxious. Sam could appreciate the way he must feel because if the situation were reversed it would be extraordinarily hard for her to stay behind.

From inside the room they could hear that the TV was on as the ubiquitous tune from iJeopardy/i filtered through the thin motel door. Jack glanced at each of them before signaling for them to move in. He gave Danny a nod who responded by kicking open the door.

"FBI!"

"FBI freeze!"

"Where is he?"

Jake Miller jumped off the bed and bumped himself against the wall. He raised his arms in the air and shouted, "He's not here!"

"Turn around and put your hands on the wall." Danny ordered as Viv and Sam kept their guns trained on Jake. Once he was handcuffed, Danny flipped him around, slammed him against the wall and angrily asked, "Where is Martin?"

"I told you, he's not here." Jake replied, sounding scared. His face was bruised and he had a large black eye that was swollen shut. Sam hoped that Martin was the one who did it.

Jack holstered his weapon, walked up to the Jake and in a fierce voice asked, "Then where is he?"

"I don't know." Jake was still wearing the pants and shirt from his doorman's uniform. He looked stunned but not entirely surprised to have four armed agents storming his hotel room.

Sam and Viv made their way to the bathroom and found it empty. Viv gave Sam a sad look and put her weapon away as she studied the scene before them. Sam tried to contain her disappointment in Martin not being here and went back to the bedroom to find Jack interrogating Jake.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jack asked as he leaned into Jake's space. Jack's face was hard and menacing.

"He took him." Jake replied, his eyes darting to each agent.

"Who took him?" Sam asked shakily.

Jake sighed heavily and said, "Harry Davidge."

Danny pressed hard on Jake's shoulders and had him sit down on the bed with the garish green and orange bedspread. "Start talking."

Jake looked at the agents and said, "I never meant it to happen this way. I just wanted to scare them. It would have been fine if Martin hadn't woken up."

"Who's Harry Davidge?" Jack asked. Sam knew that no one in the room was interested in hearing Jake's sob story.

Jake's eyes were lowered as he began, "I hired Harry to help me. He was supposed to just be the muscle, that's it."

"What happened?" Jack pressed.

Jake looked up and said, "Everything changed after Harry got into a fight with Martin."

_Harry snapped his fingers in front of Martin's slumbering face. "Man, he is really out. How long does this drug work?"_

"_I don't know exactly but at least four or five hours." Jake said as he stood near the sofa where Martin slept. He looked down at Martin and a flicker of regret crossed his face before he squared his shoulders and turned away to move to the computer. _

_He sat down at the desk and still wearing his white doorman gloves he inserted a DVR into the hard drive and began typing away. _

_Harry wandered around the apartment, picking up random items to inspect before setting them back down. "This guy's got some money. This is a pretty sweet apartment." He stood in front of Martin's flat screen TV before crouching down to look at the stereo equipment. _

"_Yeah, I guess." Jake replied suddenly feeling very uneasy. Once the email was completed he stood up and nodded towards the bedroom. "I'll go grab the cords from his bag and then we can move him down to the car."_

_Harry stood up and said, "I'll go with you." _

_The two men moved down the hall and entered Martin's walk-in closet. As Jake opened the bag and started looking for the cords he saw Harry opening some drawers and pulling things out. _

"_What are you doing?" _

"_He has some nice watches and cufflinks." He pulled out a black leather box and showed Jake a set of gold cufflinks with the initials 'M' and 'F' engraved. "You know these are worth a pretty penny." _

"_Put them back. We aren't here to rob him." Jake ordered as he stood up holding several cords in this hand._

"_Excuse me? You are here to kidnap the guy and you are getting on my case about taking a few trinkets." Harry grabbed some other items and put them in his jacket pockets. "Screw you, I'm taking them."_

_Harry walked back into the bedroom and looked around. Jake followed him out and decided to just keep him occupied by saying, "I need your help tying him up." Harry stopped his inventory check and turned around to look at Jake. "That's why you are here, remember?" _

_In a deeply sarcastic tone Harry replied, "Yeah, I remember." _

_The two men's eyes met questioningly before Jake turned and moved down the hall with Harry trailing behind him. Jake stopped short when he reached the hallway and Martin was no longer on the sofa._

"_Where is he?" Harry asked looking around the empty living room. Suddenly they heard a cabinet door open and close in the kitchen followed by some coughing. Harry turned to Jake and whispered, "You ready for this?" _

_Jake shook his head and quietly replied, "No, you get out of here and I'll put a tablet in his glass of water." He pointed to the glass on the table. "We'll come back up in a few hours when he's asleep again." _

"_How do you know he'll even drink from that glass?" Harry asked pointedly._

"_Joseph?" Martin was standing in the doorway of the kitchen. _

_Jake smiled and said, "Um, Mr. Fitzgerald, I thought I'd stop by to check up on you…" He noticed that Martin was eyeing Harry warily. "Oh, this is my friend….." He would have continued except the look on Martin's face left no doubt that he didn't believe a word he was saying. Jake's face hardened and he stepped forward towards Martin who reacted by backing quickly into the kitchen. _

"_Shit." Jake mumbled as both he and Harry hurried into the kitchen to find Martin reaching for the cordless phone. _

_Martin looked sluggish and was swaying as his eyes tried to focus. In a slurred voice he asked, "Joseph, why are you doing this?" _

_Jake narrowed his eyes at Martin and replied, "Your father needs to know, to understand the consequences of his actions." _

_Martin looked at him in disbelief as Harry raised his arms and slowly approached saying, "Come on buddy. Don't make this any harder." _

_Martin stilled himself before turning around to grab a knife from the cutlery block and held it out in front of him. He would have looked really menacing if he wasn't continuously blinking as he tried to focus. _

"_Stay back. I am a federal agent." Martin tightened his grip on the knife and held it in front of him as if he were preparing to attack. _

"_You don't want to do that." Harry warned as he crept closer to Martin. _

_They were staring at each other when Martin started coughing giving Harry an opportunity to make a move for the knife. Harry rushed Martin and was able to put his hands over Martin's. The two men were struggling when Jake saw Harry's face grimace as he pulled back holding the knife but there was blood on his shirt. Harry looked at his wound before looking back at Martin who was panting and looking confused. Harry got a furious look on his face and suddenly reached out and slashed Martin in the side. _

_Martin screamed out and managed to shove Harry so hard he dropped the knife. Harry responded by reaching over and putting his hands around Martin's neck, strangling him. Jake tried to intervene but by the time he pulled Harry off, Martin dropped to his knees and then the floor completely unconscious. Jake checked his pulse and was relieved to find that he was still alive. _

"_What the fuck? I thought you said he was going to be out of it for a long time." Harry argued as he pulled up his shirt to examine his wound. There was a large gash and it was bleeding profusely. "Shit." He walked to the sink to get the dish towel to try and stop the bleeding. _

_Jake watched him a moment before moving to inspect Martin's wound. He pulled up his t-shirt and saw a long slash along his side but it didn't look like it was too deep. The blood was pooling so he grabbed some napkins from off of the counter and pressed them to him. He looked up at Harry and said, "We have to get out of here." _

"_No shit." Harry replied. "Where did you drop those cords?" _

"_What do you mean? We can't take him now, he's injured." _

"_So am I!" Harry pulled the towel away and was relieved to see that the blood was slowing down. He pressed it again and said, "We are going to take him and we are going to get this daddy you keep talking about to pay us a lot of money." _

"_No." Jake replied. "This isn't about money. I'm going to go see if he has any First-Aid supplies in the bathroom, I'll do what I can and then we'll go."_

_Jake hurried out of the kitchen to head for the bathroom. He could hear Harry move behind him but refused to look back. In the bathroom he found a small bag of bandages and other medical supplies under the sink. He picked it up and headed back to the living room._

"_Change of plans, old man." Harry announced as he raised a gun towards Jake. "Look what I found in the hall closet. Now we are going to do it just like I say."_

"He took the First-Aid kit and ordered me to tie up Martin. After that we tried to take Martin down the stairwell but he was too heavy for me and with Harry injured he wasn't much help. So we exited on the 14th floor and took the freight elevator down to the loading dock where we put Martin in the trunk of his car."

"We looked at the surveillance tapes and we didn't see anything, why not?" Danny questioned.

"I never turned on the VCR that night. I just relabeled an old tape." Jake said in a low sorrowful voice.

"Where can we find Harry?" Jack asked gruffly.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Sam asked growing increasingly frustrated.

"My plan was to take Martin to a warehouse in Queens. Harry knew this but when we were driving he said that he had a better place to put him. We got into an argument about his plans to ask for ransom so he pulled over on the side of highway and we got out of the car to fight about it some more. That's when he did this." Jake pointed to his eye. "He got back in the car and drove off without me. That's how I ended up here."

"Where's Martin?" Everyone in the room turned around to find Victor Fitzgerald walking into the room straight towards Jake Miller. Jake stood up and Danny grabbed him by the arms as Jack moved to intercept Victor. "I asked you a question: where is my son!"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

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Victor strode purposefully towards Jake who was struggling against Danny. Jack stepped in front of Victor who had a murderous look on his face as he shouted again, "What did you do to my son, Jake!"

"Martin's not here, Victor." Jack said as he placed his hands on Victor's arms to hold him back. "Let us handle it."

Victor pushed against Jack and shouted, "Where is he!"

"It feels like shit doesn't it Victor? To not know if he's hurt or even alive; that your son, your only child is out there and you can't do a goddamn thing about it!" Jake seethed in return as Danny moved around in front of him and started to push him back.

"If you have a vendetta you take it out against me. You're a chicken shit to take it out on my kid." Victor towered over Jack as he continued in his tirade.

"Your kid is just a big a fuck up as you." Jake retaliated.

Danny got an angry look on his face as he pushed Jake hard up against the wall and shouted, "Shut up. Cool it."

Jake took no notice of Danny's request and continued, "Your son let that kid get kidnapped. He was right there and he didn't stop it. He's just like you Victor. He has all the tools and power to prevent a child from getting hurt and he failed just like you! It's your fault, Victor. It's your fault that Clarkson killed my boy."

Victor stopped struggling against Jack and in a tone full of venom replied, "And you, Jake, you took my son. You hurt my son! You're just like Clarkson!"

"That's enough." Jack pushed Victor back and out the door.

Jake stopped fighting against Danny and slumped back stunned. He went lax against the wall and lowered his eyes. Danny released his hold and had Jake sit back down on the bed.

As the tension in the room fell, Sam walked up to where Jake sat and asked, "We need to know everything you can tell us about Harry Davidge. Where you met him, where he works, lives, dates, everything."

"I don't know that stuff." Jake replied without looking up.

"He helps you kidnap someone and you don't know him that well? I find that really hard to believe." Danny replied as sneered in Jake's face.

"It's true. I met him at Lou's Bar in Queens." Jake replied as he looked up at the agents hovering around him.

"And what? You were talking over a beer and said, 'Hey, can you help me kidnap someone?'" Viv asked as she leaned against the dresser.

"No, I had already planned it all out. I went there to ask around to find someone who might be hired as muscle. The bartender nodded to Harry." Jake replied.

"Calm down Victor." Jack ordered as he walked behind him ensuring that he wouldn't try and go back into the room.

"You calm down, Jack. It's not your kid that's missing." Victor stopped and turned back around to face Jack. He put his hands on his hips, lowered his eyes as he blew out a frustrated breath. He looked at the open doorway and said, "I want to hurt him for doing this Jack."

"I know you do; so do I. But right now we have to focus that energy on finding Martin."

Victor rubbed a hand over his forehead as he tried to compose himself. He looked at Jack and asked, "What did you find out? You said Martin's not here, where is he?"

Jack folded his arms and replied, "Jake Miller did initiate the kidnapping but he's no longer in control….." Jack finished debriefing Victor on everything Jake told them up until he came storming in.

"So now we are looking for this Harry?" Victor asked defeatedly.

"Yeah."

Victor stepped to the railing and leaned forward with his hands gripping the metal frame, "So the person who is supposed to call at 11:30 – that's Harry."

Jack stood alongside Victor and softly said, "Yeah, it seems so."

The two men stood together for a beat when Victor glanced at his watch and stood up straight, "He's going to be calling soon. We should get back to the city." The older man glanced towards Jake's room and said, "Besides you better get me out of here before I do something we both regret."

"Right." Jack watched as Victor headed down the stairwell before walking back to room to find Danny and Viv talking to Jake.

"So you had set up the cell phone to be untraceable and now Harry has it?" Viv questioned.

"Yeah." Jake replied. "He knows that it can't be traced, too."

Danny looked at Jake really irritated and slapped him on the back of the head. "Wow, you really thought this whole thing through didn't you?"

Sam spotted Jack and walked over to him. "How's Victor?"

"We are going to head back to the city to get ready for the ransom drop."

Sam nodded her head and said, "I'll go with you."

Viv joined them and said, "We'll send Jake back for processing and then Danny and I will go to this Lou's Bar to see if we can find out anything. I called Mac and he is tracking down Harry's home address and will send some agents there to look around."

Jack shook his head and said, "Keep in touch and let us know if you find out anything."

He gave her a quick nod and started to follow Sam out before looking back at the pathetic state of Jake Miller. It was sad to think that a father seeking vengeance for the loss of his son would inflict the same pain back on someone else.

Jack turned around and walked out. He had to get ready to pay to get Martin back. He prayed that the loose cannon named Harry could be trusted but something in his gut doubted it.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

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From the waist up Samantha Spade looked like a calm, professional agent. But if anyone were to look under the table they would see her leg bouncing up and down like a jackhammer. The waiting was killing her. They were sitting in the tech room waiting for the call for instructions on where to make the ransom drop. She glanced over at the clock on the wall and saw the second hand on the clock click to 11:15 am.

She looked over at Mac who was slurping his coffee in long sips. She sighed irritably as she glanced across the conference table at Victor and Beth who were sitting and waiting for the ransom call and hopefully another chance to talk to Martin. Beth looked like she was barely breathing while Victor's nostrils flared with each passing minute.

Jack sat on a chair in the corner of the room. He was reading through a report on Harry Davidge. It wasn't good. It seems Harry was a life long criminal with a history of robbery, possession, grand theft, and assault and batttery. He had been released from prison ten months prior and he had one strike left before having to serve a mandatory life sentence which meant that he basically had nothing left to lose. This made him a very dangerous man.

Needing to get out of the room and move around for a bit, Sam stood up and said, "I'll be right back. I'm just going down the hall."

Victor and Beth nodded at her while Jack just looked up a brief second before returning his attention to the file. Mac simply eyed her over the rim of his coffee cup as he continued loudly sucking down his beverage.

Sam walked out and headed down the hall to the ladies room. When she entered she went straight to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She needed to keep her wits about her and she knew that being up for over 30 hours straight was starting to takes it toll. She wished she could take a shower and freshen up. She closed her eyes as the memory of Martin in her shower entered her mind.

_Sam rolled over and stretched out her arms to find the other side of the bed empty. She opened her eyes and looked around the bedroom for any sign of Martin. She heard the shower running and what sounded like someone singing. She got out of bed wearing a white tank and undies and began walking slowly to her bathroom. The door was ajar so she pushed it open further with her ears straining to recognize the song Martin was belting out. She looked inside and could see his silhouette through the glass door to her shower._

"_Some people call me the space cowboy, yeah. Some call me the gangster of love. Some people call me Maurice, cause I speak of the pompatus of love….People talk about me, baby, say I'm doin' you wrong, doin' you wrong…Well, don't you worry baby, don't worry, cause I'm right here, right here, right here, right here at home…" She smiled as Martin lathered the shampoo into his hair and spiked it up like a mini Mohawk. She held her fingers to her lips hoping to stifle a laugh. She grinned widely at hearing the normally reserved Martin Fitzgerald being so carefree while singing the classic Steve Miller song. "Cause I'm a picker. I'm a grinner. I'm a lover and I'm a sinner…I play my music in the sun. I'm a joker. I'm a smoker. I'm a midnight toker…I sure don't want to hurt no one…"_

She could not suppress her mirth a moment longer and began laughing loudly. Martin stopped his singing and slid the shower door open a crack to look out at her. He had a mortified look on his face and nervously asked, "How long have you been standing there?" 

_Sam's lips twitched into an evil grin. "Long enough to know you can't sing."_

_He gave her a dimpled grin and replied, "Yeah but I make up for it with enthusiasm." He flicked his soapy fingers at her causing some suds to spray across the bathroom floor. Wiggling his eyebrows up and down he asked, "You want to join me?"_

_Sam leaned against the doorframe, folded her arms and replied, "Why? You want to sing a duet?" _

"_Why? Why you ask?" Martin feigned a hurt look before balling his hand into a fist, lifting it to his mouth like a microphone and sang, "Because you're the cutest thing that I ever did see…I really love your peaches want to shake your tree. Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time…Ooo-eee baby, I'll sure show you a good time…."_

_Sam shook her head and laughed before pulling the tank over her head as she replied, "I'll join you but don't you dare start referring to anything of mine as 'peaches'…."_

Sam looked up to see her reflection in the mirror. There were small water droplets on her face so she reached over and pulled some paper towels from the dispenser. She patted her face dry with the coarse paper and tossed it into the trash can. She glanced back at the mirror to find her own sad eyes looking back at her. She inhaled a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom with renewed determination.

When she entered the room she saw Victor staring at the phone as if he were mentally willing it to ring. Beth gave her a sad smile before looking back down at her hands. Not wanting to sit, Sam walked over to the wall and leaned against it. She met Jack's eyes and she saw that he looked as worried as she felt.

The silence was broken by the shrill ringing of Victor's cell phone. Sam and Jack rushed over to the recording equipment and put the headset on their ears as Jack nodded to Victor to answer.

"Hello?" Victor answered.

"You will drop the money off at the last bench on the far northern end of Bethesda Terrace at noon today. Leave the money under the bench and walk away. Do not bring any friends either in uniform or undercover because I will be watching. As soon as I have the money and am a safe distance away I will call you and tell you where you can find your son."

"I want to talk to Martin. I need assurance that he is okay." Victor insisted.

"I've just sent you a video clip that should assure you he is well." Harry replied sounding entirely too self confident for Sam's liking. "Of course, how long he remains that way is entirely up to you. Remember: one million dollars, Bethesda Terrace, far bench on the north end, noon today." The line went dead.

Jack and Sam took off their headsets and rushed over to Victor's side as he pressed the buttons to look at the video clip.

The grainy clip began to play and there was Martin looking pale and weak on the screen. He was handcuffed and holding up today's _New York Times_. The wall behind him was a non-descript backdrop and he looked cold and wet. Sam noticed the front of his shirt was bloody and ripped. She felt her blood boil at seeing Martin injured and being held against his will. Martin coughed before he began to speak, "Dad, I'm fine. He will not hurt me as long as he gets the money. You must follow his instructions and pay the ransom so I can come home. Please do exactly as he says."

The video held on Martin's face for a quick beat before it ended. Victor lowered his eyes and said, "It looks like he was rehearsed but at least we know that he is alive."

Beth swallowed and fearfully said, "That clip was recorded earlier today. How can we be sure that he is still alive?"

"We can't." Sam breathed out. "We just have to pray that this Harry is telling us the truth."

They were all quiet a beat before Jack spoke up. "Send that clip to Mac so he can see if he can get any information off of it." Jack directed as he picked up his own cell phone. Victor nodded his head and began to send the clip. "I'll send some agents to Central Park right now to start surveillance."

Victor bit his lip and for a moment Sam thought that he might argue that he was going to follow Harry's directions and not have agents there but he nodded his head in agreement.

"We should get going." Victor said as he reached down for the black duffle back by his chair. He turned to his wife and said, "Beth, you'll have to stay here but I will bring our son back."

"I'm counting on it." Beth replied as she moved to in to kiss him and they hugged tightly before Victor pulled away and headed out of the room and down the hall.

Sam followed him from behind and they stood at the elevator waiting for the lift to arrive. Jack came alongside them a moment later and said, "I have several agents who will be there in few minutes. Victor, are you sure you are okay to do the drop?"

"Absolutely." Victor replied.

"Where do you want me Jack?" Sam asked needing something to do.

"I want you to stay in the van and help coordinate things from there. He might know what you look like if Jake showed him the photos and we don't want to alarm him." Jack answered as the elevator doors opened and the three of them boarded.

She nodded her head and leaned back against the elevator door. She couldn't explain it but she had a really bad feeling about the ransom drop. And an even worse one about what Harry might have done to Martin after the clip was recorded and proof of life was established.

Sam squeezed her eyes shut and thought: _Hang on Marty. I'm going to get you back._


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

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_Harry Davidge turned off the cell phone and put it in his pocket. He looked at Martin with a look of absolute disgust. Martin swallowed suddenly feeling very afraid of what he was going to happen to him now that he had given his father the final proof of life and the money was most likely going to be paid. Harry looked at Martin and slowly pulled out the gun pointing it directly at him. _

_Martin lowered the paper and watched his captor warily as he walked slowly towards him. Harry pressed the gun barrel to his temple and whispered, "If your father does as he is told than this is the last time we are going to see one another so I want to give you a little something to remember me by." He pulled the gun away from his temple and stood up. He smiled darkly at Martin and hit him in the head with the blunt end of the gun. _

_Martin fell over in pain when Harry kicked him on his injured side. He bit his lip hard to suppress the overwhelming urge to cry out in pain. He could taste blood in his mouth when he looked up at Harry's face in time to see his foot moving in to kick him once again. _

_That was the last thing he saw before everything went black._

Martin moaned out loud as he maneuvered himself into a sitting position. He could feel warm blood trickling down the side of his face. His head was still throbbing where Harry hit him but he guessed he should be thankful that he was only beaten and not killed. However, every single nerve ending in his body would surely disagree. There wasn't one part of his body that didn't hurt.

He looked at his wrists and was immediately thankful that Harry was too busy beating the shit out of him to stop and check that the handcuffs were securely fastened. When Harry had Martin put the cuff on his wrist he did it so that it would be loose enough for him to slide out his hand. After a few tries he was able to slip his hand free. He lifted up his shirt so he could inspect his wound. He examined the gash on his side and saw that the kicks had caused it to start bleeding again. And judging by the bruises he had also been unconscious long enough for his skin to darken where Harry's boots met his chest.

He closed his eyes to try and keep the room from spinning. He felt really hot and exhausted. He briefly wondered if he should just rest and wait to be rescued or try and find a way to get out of the shed. He glanced at the door and toyed with the idea of slamming into it in the hopes of it opening but quickly decided that would most likely result in him hurting himself further. He looked around at the small shed but it was a well contained box. The only way in or out was through that door and he knew that there was a dead bolt on the other side.

If he were feeling just a little bit strong he would try to work the door open but he wasn't. He felt weaker than he had ever felt in his life. Martin leaned against the sandbags to give himself a little longer to rest up as he considered his options.

He prayed that the ransom drop would go smoothly. That Harry would be captured and they would get him to confess where Martin was being held. While he knew that he and his dad weren't close by any means he knew that he would never want any harm to come to him. After all he knew that even if he wasn't around, his dad loved him and missed him. Martin smiled at the bittersweet memory.

"_What are you doing up?" Victor asked from the swing on the back porch. After the funeral they decided to stay at his granddad's house so they could pack it up and get it ready to sell. Martin missed sleeping in his own bed in his own room so he got up and decided just to wander around the house. _

_Still dressed in his sweat pants and t-shirt Martin shrugged his shoulders and simply replied, "I couldn't sleep."_

_Victor nodded his head in understanding. "Me either." He gave him a soft look and added, "Come and sit with me." _

_Martin hesitated a second before walking over and taking a seat next to his dad. They sat in silence with only the sounds of crickets chirping in the woods behind the house. At twelve Martin had long gangly legs so his feet hit the wood floor and he was able to push the swing slowly using the balls of his feet for leverage. _

_Victor just let his son control the pace of the swinging as he took a drink of his scotch. Martin watched as the moonlight made the ice in the glass twinkle like diamonds. His dad lowered the glass, letting it rest on his thigh as he commented, "I spent a lot of time on this porch when I was a kid." _

"_You and granddad?" Martin asked. He was incredibly curious about what his dad's relationship to his own father. And even more so about what his dad was like as a kid. _

"_Sometimes but not very often; he worked a lot and would have to travel quite a bit." Victor's voice got soft and sad. _

_Martin lowered his eyes to look at the cracks in the wooden floor boards of the porch. He could relate to having a dad who wasn't around much. He didn't know what compelled him to say what he did but in a voice as soft as a whisper he asked, "Did you miss him when he was gone?" _

"_Yeah, I did." Victor replied and then a little later quietly added, "I do."_

_Martin could hear a car driving down the street and then the sound of the engine fading away. He looked up at his dad and asked, "Do you think he missed you too? When he was away?" _

_Victor looked over at Martin and put his hand on his back as he replied, "I'm sure he did."_

"_How do you know?" Martin asked, not breaking eye contact._

"_Well, my mom used to say that I am a lot like my dad and I know that I miss you when I have to go away for work. Just because fathers don't get to see their son's everyday it doesn't mean they don't love them or think about them. They are just working hard to make their sons proud." Victor gave him a sad smile. Martin nodded his head and returned the sad smile before turning to look back out at the trees. _

_There was a slight breeze and the leaves in the trees fluttered like butterflies. The symphony of crickets grew louder. _

_Victor leaned over towards Martin and mischievously whispered, "Did you bring your baseball and mitt?" Martin nodded his head while looking at him curiously. "When we were packing up earlier I found my old catcher's mitt from high school. Why don't you run upstairs and get yours so we can play some catch." _

"_Really?" Martin asked with wide eyes._

"_Yeah really." Victor smiled._

"_Okay!" Martin jumped off the porch swing and took off upstairs. He could hear his dad laughing as he called after him to slow down or he'll wake up his mom. _

_They played catch in the moonlight for over an hour. They talked about school and he found out that his dad hated biology as much as he did and his dad taught him how to throw a better curve ball. They didn't talk about anything deep or extremely personal but just being able to spend one on one time with his dad made it the best time ever and he never wanted it to end. _


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

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"Any sign of him?" Jack's voice crackled into Sam's earpiece. He sat in a car near the parks entrance.

"Nothing yet." Sam replied from the surveillance van disguised as an ice cream truck across from the Bethesda Terrace. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was four minutes to twelve.

She watched the monitor inside the van when Victor appeared on screen carrying the black satchel. He looked so composed but Sam knew that he was reigning in his emotions because she could see his jaw clench. He walked with purpose towards the bench at the far end. Sam scanned the area and there was no sign of Harry Davidge.

There were several agents wandering around the terrace disguised as tourists, local businessman and women on their lunch break, and other random New Yorkers taking advantage of parks many centerpieces. Sam listened as each agent checked in with Jack notifying him that they were in place but they hadn't seen Harry either.

Victor dropped the bag on the ground and pushed it under the bench with his feet. He studied it for a moment before walking away; his eyes darting around for any sign of Harry. He was heading back to the car where Jack sat waiting and watching.

Sam blew out a frustrated knowing that now came the hard part: waiting. She kept her eyes glued to the monitors looking for any sign of the man who held Martin captive.

"Possible suspect approaching from the south entrance." One of the agents announced into their mic. Sam held her breath as she watched a man wearing black jeans, a black shirt, a Yankees baseball cap and dark sunglasses slowly make his way to the bench. He saw the bag and glanced around before reaching under and pulling it out. He put the strap over his should and started to walk away.

Suddenly a police siren could be heard and the man dressed in black, frightened, took off running. The undercover agents chased after him with shouts of "Freeze! FBI!"

Victor and Jack raced to the scene and Sam swung the van door open and went to head them off. One of agents tackled the man down and started handcuffing him. Jack rushed over and flipped the man over, taking off the hat and sunglasses. Sam joined him and saw that it wasn't Harry.

"Who are you? Where's my son?" Victor shouted at the man as he pushed his hands against the man's chest causing him to stumble back.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" The stunned man replied as another agent grabbed him to steady him.

Jack grabbed the man's t-shirt and pulled him near as he asked, "Where is Martin Fitzgerald? How much of a cut did Harry offer you?"

"Who?" The man questioned.

"The man who paid you to pick up the ransom money. Where is he holding Martin?" Sam said with anger.

"Ransom money?"

"Believe me, this isn't the time to play jokes. We have you for kidnapping, assault on a federal officer…" Jack began listing the litany of crimes.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" The man shouted. "I just saw the bag and took it. I don't know anything about ransom money or anyone named Harry or Martin!"

Jack released his grip with a shove and studied the man. Sam's heart raced and she felt an overwhelming urge to beat the crap out of the man for screwing up the drop and very well may have signed Martin's death sentence. She looked around as a crowd began to form to look at the spectacle of federal agents arresting the idiot of the year.

"Okay, this is a major screw up. I want every single agent to scan this park and you better damn well find Davidge!" Jack ordered angrily.

Victor's cell phone rang and he met Jack's eyes as he pulled it out to answer it. Sam came to stand right next to Victor hoping to hear what Davidge would say. She didn't have to stand too close because Harry was shouting as soon as Victor answered.

"Fitzgerald."

"I told you no cops but now there is a fucking convention! I hope you kept that little video I sent you because guess what? That is the last time you will ever have seen your son alive!" Harry screamed into the phone. He was furious and Sam knew that they had to find him right now before he had a chance to take it out on Martin.

"No, wait!" Victor pleaded but the line went dead. "He said he's going to kill Martin. Jack, we have to do something!"

"Alright, we know that he saw what just went down so that means he is close enough to see." Jack glanced around as he pulled out his mic again to give instructions to the other agents. "We just got a call from the kidnapper. He is nearby. Check all possible areas he could have hidden, bushes, trees, etc."

Sam and Victor searched the park together while the other agents spread out all around Bethesda Terrace but Harry Davidge was no where to be found. They searched for over half an hour before deciding that by that time Harry would be long gone. Deflated, they returned to the bench to see if Jack made any progress.

"Anything?" Victor asked, his voice laced with fear. He nervously rubbed his forehead.

"We are going to find him Victor." Jack pulled out his cell phone. "Viv, please tell me you and Danny found something."

As Jack talked on the phone Sam walked over to where Victor stood looking pale and nervous. She searched her mind for something to say but no words seemed to form. So she just stood alongside him and rubbed her hands together.

"Great job." Jack clicked off the cell phone and walked up to Sam and Victor, "Danny and Viv found out he did community service for Parks Services. They are tracking down the route he worked. We need to get back to the office."

Sam and Victor nodded in agreement as Jack walked over to hand over command of the park fiasco to another agent.

As Victor and Sam headed to the car he looked at her and said, "We need to find this guy fast. I can't let Martin down, not anymore."

Sam's lip quivered as she shakily replied, "Me either."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

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Victor watched as the members of the team frantically searching through records, making calls to the parks services and looking through maps in the hopes of finding any clue as to where Harry Davidge may have taken Martin. It was a true testament to Martin's character that so many people cared about him and wanted him home safe and sound.

He glanced over at Samantha Spade who was concentrating on a map of the New York forests. She had been quiet the entire ride back to the office. He noticed that when they arrived that Danny Taylor had tried to comfort her by touching her shoulder but she flinched and told him that she just needed a minute. She disappeared into the bathroom for a long while but when she emerged she was all business. He could see why his son had fallen for her. She wasn't just beautiful but strong in spirit and body.

He left them to their work to go see if Jack was having any luck interviewing Jake Miller. He walked down the hallway to the interview room and stopped in front of the one way mirror. The two men went sitting directly across from one another while the other female agent Vivian sat alongside Jack.

As Victor looked at Jake he remembered the night he made the promise that was the catalyst for all that has happened.

_A younger Victor Fitzgerald was standing in the Miller's den. He had planned on just dropping them off after having them review photos of potential subjects to see if they recognized anyone who might have been hanging out in their neighborhood. When he stopped in front of the house Jake invited him inside to share a drink and he accepted. Jeanne excused herself and went upstairs to bed. Victor could see the couple pulling apart during this difficult time and desperately wanted to find their son and make them a whole family again._

"_Here you go, scotch on the rocks." Jake handed Victor the heavy weighted glass. _

"_Thanks." Victor took a long drink and sat down on the leather chair in the den. _

_They sat in silence and Victor wondered why he even agreed to come inside. _

"_Do you have any kids?" Jake asked as he brought the drink to his lips and took a drink._

_Victor swallowed, unsure if he should be honest or if that would be rubbing salt on the wound. He opted for the truth and replied, "I have a son. His name's Martin." _

_Jake looked at Victor sadly and asked, "How old?"_

"_He's eleven." He replied softly. Jake's gaze steadied on him realizing that their sons were the same age. It made Victor feel guilty but he wasn't sure why. Jake's eyes looked watery as he nodded his head in understanding and took a long drink of his scotch. Victor cleared his throat and was about to excuse himself when Jake spoke._

"_What's he like?" Jake's voice was soft as a whisper._

_Victor rubbed his chin and cautiously replied, "He's a good kid; smart, nice, athletic."_

_Jake stared at the fireplace and said, "Does he like baseball?" _

_The mood wasn't tense but impossibly sad. Victor looked into his glass but didn't drink as he replied, "Yes. He plays for the Georgetown Pirates. He's the pitcher."_

"_I guess you don't get to see him much with the job." _

"_Not as much as I'd like, no." Victor didn't mention that even when his hours were more normal that he seldom spent much time with Martin. He would use that time to attend functions that would make his presence better known to the FBI's higher ups._

"_Same here; I am working on opening up my own business, 'Miller and Son Paper Products.' I have this vision of me teaching Chris the ropes. In the meantime though I am working long hours and he's growing up faster than I can keep up." Jake smiled without humor._

"_I know what you mean. It seems like every time I see Martin he's another inch taller." Victor replied thinking that the last time he was home Martin was as tall as Beth; something that filled Martin with pride. _

"_What about you?" Jake asked. "Do you want him joining the family business?" _

_Victor smiled and said, "Not if I have any say in it."_

"_Why not?" _

"_I want a better life for him and I plan to see to it that he doesn't follow my lead." Victor took a drink and smiling said, "Besides, my wife thinks Martin has a future in politics. He's the most diplomatic kid around."_

_Jake's eyes got teary as he stared at the photo of Chris on the mantle. "Chris is everything to me and Jeanne. If he's….I don't know what we would do."_

_Victor empathized with him, he didn't know what he would do if someone were to harm or take his son. And before he knew it he said the words that would haunt him the rest of his life. "I will find your son, Jake. I will find Chris and bring him home to you and Jeanne."_

"_I'm counting on you, Victor." Jake looked straight at Victor and said, "Don't let me down."_

"_I won't." _

He still carried the guilt around with him that he wasn't able to find Chris alive. Logically he knew that it wasn't his fault but it still haunted him. He looked through the window and saw that Jack was making little headway with Jake.

"I already told you everything I knew." Jake replied adamantly.

"Look, we already have you with kidnapping and assault of a federal agent. If you don't cooperate with us then you will also be charged with accessory to murder." Jack spoke firmly and menacingly which pleased Victor immensely.

"Murder?" Jake asked worriedly.

"Harry said he is going to kill Martin. We need to get to him quickly." Vivian replied with a tenacious tone. She was deftly playing the good cop to Jack's bad. "If you give us information that helps us locate Martin, safe and sound then we can help cut a deal for you."

Jake glanced over at the mirror and squinted as if he were trying to see through to the other side. "Is Victor here?"

"Quit stalling and tell us what we want to know." Jack ordered.

Without looking away from the mirror he said, "I want to talk to Victor."

"No." Jack replied shaking his head and leaning over to stare Jake down. His voice was dark and gruff as he replied, "You are going to talk to me."

Unperturbed, Jake said, "No, I will only talk to Victor. Alone."

Victor turned the corner and walked into the interview room. "Okay, I'm here."

Jack stood and put his hands up as he walked towards Victor, "This isn't a good idea."

"I have to, Jack." Victor glanced over at Jake who seemed slightly surprised at seeing Victor acquiesce so easily. "This all began because of me and it's up to me to end it once and for all."

Jack studied him for a moment before he gestured for Vivian to exit the room with him. As Jack reached for the doorknob he turned to look at both the men and said, "I'll be right outside watching everything."

Victor nodded at Jack before occupying the vacated seat. Victor and Jake stared at one another for a moment before Victor spoke up, "I'm here, talk."

Jake licked his lips and said, "It hurts doesn't it?"

Victor worked his jaw but refused to give Jake the satisfaction of a reply. He just stared at Jake stoically.

"That feeling, that pain. You never get over it. It gnaws at you every single day." Jake leaned forward and kept his eyes on Victor. "I drank, did drugs but nothing numbed it. Nothing made it any easier." Jake jutted out his chin and added, "Except hating you. Hating you filled that void."

Victor swallowed and coldly said, "I understand that you hate me. I didn't come through on my promise to you and didn't find Chris in time. Blame me all you want but Martin has nothing to do with what happened between us."

"He has everything to do with us." Jake argued back. "You got a chance to have a life with your son, Victor. Your son grew up and got to do all the things that my son couldn't. How is that fair?"

"You're blaming my son for being alive?" Victor leaned in towards Jake.

"No, I blame you for not finding my son but also for failing yours. He's just like you Victor. He's exactly what you said you never wanted him to be." Jake answered. "You failed him Victor. You said you wouldn't let him feel the same way you did growing up but you did it anyway. He became an agent just like you and he is allowing little boys to get kidnapped….."

"Martin rescued that boy!" Victor shouted. He bit the inside of his cheek to suppress the urge to lunge at Jake from across the table.

"He was there and he still couldn't stop that boy from getting kidnapped." Jake replied shouting just as loudly. Jake settled himself and in a calm voice said, "That's why I did what I did. I don't think you or your son understands what a family goes through when a child is kidnapped. When your child is taken and you have no idea if they are okay."

"And taking my son is the only way to show me?"

"Yes because you cannot explain that feeling. You just have to experience it." Jake looked deep into Victor's eyes and said, "You are never going to be able to forget this feeling are you, Victor?"

"Okay, I get it. I got my lesson." Victor tried to keep his voice level, took a deep breath and said, "This is the shittiest feeling in the world. But I know that you aren't a bad man, Jake. You don't want Martin to die. You wouldn't want my wife, Martin's mother, to have to go through what Jeanne did do you?" For the first time since Victor walked into the room he could see a flicker of the Jake he met over twenty years ago.

"No, that wasn't my plan." Jake responded as he lowered his eyes. "Harry just took everything over so quickly."

"Sometimes things happen that are out of your control." Victor said evenly.

Jake looked up at Victor as if realizing that might have been what happened in the case with his own son. He looked like he wanted to cry but he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "I remember that Harry said that he still had the keys to the first site he worked at Finger Lakes but that's all I know."

"Thank you." Victor stood up to leave and put his hand on the doorknob. He paused and turned to look back at Jake. "You know, you got it all wrong." Jake looked at him questioningly. "My son is nothing like me. He's a better man than I could ever hope to be."


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

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"Listen to this!" Danny shouted from his desk.

Sam cradled the phone near her ear and looked over to where Danny sat. As soon as Jake Miller clued them into where Harry may have taken Martin, Viv came rushing over to tell them where to focus their search.

"What do you have?" Jack asked from the conference table where he and Victor were studying a map of Finger Lakes.

"According to Harry's parole officer, when Harry was released he worked near a campground site. He was part of a crew that was repairing an aqueduct nearby. But get this, I just checked and that site is temporarily closed so the park rangers can clear the brush and rejuvenate the vegetation."

"A closed campsite is a perfect place to hide someone." Viv said aloud.

"That's about a five hour drive." Jack glanced at his watch. "It's almost two. We can take the helicopter and beat him there." He looked around at the team and said, "Danny and Viv, I want you to call ahead and coordinate efforts with the police and park rangers there. Sam, get your gear, you're coming with Victor and me."

Sam nodded her head and turned around to grab her gun from her desk. She glanced over at Viv and Danny who were already on the phone calling the local authorities. She headed down the hall to the locker room to grab her vest and jacket. As she passed Jack's office she saw that Jack was on the phone making arrangements for the bureau chopper to take them to Finger Lakes while Victor and Beth sat on the sofa talking close together. Actually it was Victor who was talking while Beth held his hand and nodded her head as she listened.

Sam continued down the hall and walked into the locker room. She went straight to her locker and pulled out her vest and windbreaker with the ubiquitous 'FBI' written in bright yellow print on the back. The vest felt heavy as she pulled apart the Velcro and put it on. Once she was ready she slammed the door shut. She kept her hand on the cold metal and leaned her forehead against it.

She released a breath knowing that this was it: they were going to find Martin. She could feel it in deep in her gut.

"_How did you know they were having an affair?" Martin asked Sam as soon as they walked out of the room where they had just interviewed Marla Rebel about Peter Ducek. _

"_It was just a gut feeling." Sam replied nonchalant._

"_I thought men got feelings in their gut and women had feminine intuition." Martin replied as they walked down the hall towards the elevator. _

"_That's an incredibly sexiest thing to say. Women can have gut instincts as well as feminine intuition." Sam smiled pointedly at Martin. "It's the 21st century, we can have it all."_

"_Touche." Martin replied as he tried to keep up with the pace of her walking. "It was just pretty impressive how you were able to call Marla on having an affair with Peter. I don't know who was more surprised, her or me." _

_Sam tilted her head and softly said, "Yeah, well, I guess you can say I was speaking from experience. I could recognize the signs." He nodded at her solemnly and looked away. Wanting to bring back the levity from earlier, she nudged him with her shoulder, leaned towards him and added, "Besides, I like to keep you guessing on what I'm going to do next."_

_As they reached the elevator he pressed the button and turned to her grinning, "Oh, believe me you do." He glanced around to make sure no one was listening and whispered, "That little thing you did last night comes to mind." _

_Sam laughed softly as the elevator doors opened and they boarded. They had to go downstairs so Martin could gather the photos for Marla to review. Once the doors closed and they were alone inside, she moved close to him, pressed her body against his and kissed him hard on the mouth. He responded immediately to the contact as the kiss deepened. Knowing that the elevator was about to stop on their floor she pulled back just in time as the doors opened up. She looked over at Martin who was breathing heavily and leaning against the wall of the elevator. _

_She gave him a sly smile and said, "This is our stop."_

_He cleared his throat and replied, "Um, I think I might need to ride around a little longer."_

"_That's another nice thing about being a woman, we recover quicker." Sam stepped out of the elevator and gestured to the very obvious bulge in Martin's pants as she devilishly added, "It must be so HARD to be a man."_

_As the doors began to close Martin leaned over so she could only see his head as he shouted, "Now that was an incredibly sexist thing to say!"_

Sam blew out a breath as the picture of Martin's smiling face appeared in her head. She didn't know how much she missed seeing him smile at her like that until it was too late. When she finds him she was going to make sure that he knew how important he was to her and hopefully get him to smile at her like that again.

She headed out of the locker room and met Victor and Jack at the elevator just as the doors slid open so they all boarded. Sam glanced at Jack who looked at her determinedly as the air in the tiny compartment crackled with frenetic energy at knowing that now they had a solid lead. Victor just stared at the doors and seemed lost in his own thoughts. Sam glanced at his hands and saw that they were clenched into fists.

It felt like the elevator was moving at a snail's pace so she mentally willed it to speed up. She felt an anxious excitement at the prospect that they not only may have found Martin but there was a strong possibility that they would beat Harry back.

They boarded the helicopter a short while later and were on their way to Finger Lakes and, hopefully, Martin.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

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"We're going to have to land here." The pilot's voice crackled on the earphones. "We can't get any closer with those trees. It's about a half a mile from the campsite."

"That's fine, just get us down there." Jack replied as he thumbed down towards the earth below.

The helicopter landed in an open area and Jack, Victor, and Sam, hunching over to protect their heads, got out. The helicopters propellers were slowing down but they were still highly dangerous and loud. Once they were in the clear Sam spotted the local police waiting for them.

"Agent Malone?" A man with a big round beer gut and bushy mustache walked towards them. He stopped just in front of them and nodded as he said, "I'm Sheriff Coffman."

"I'm Malone. This is Deputy Director Victor Fitzgerald and Special Agent Samantha Spade." They all exchanged quick introductory nods when Jack asked, "Anything yet?"

"We've done a preliminary search and checked every storage shed in the vicinity. We didn't find anyone and there's no sign of any thing out of the ordinary. I have my men scouring the entire radius but so far nothing." The sheriff glanced around at the three deflated agents and said, "You sure this is the place?"

"It's the best lead we have. Keep looking, he has to be around here somewhere." Jack replied brusquely before turning towards Victor and Sam. Realizing that he was being dismissed, the sheriff walked away.

"I'm going to go look around near the water." Victor said with his eyes looking towards the trees. Sam watched as he walked determinedly to the wooded area.

"I'll go with him." Sam said.

Jack gave her a soft look and replied, "Okay."

Sam got in step behind Victor. He looked back at her to acknowledge her presence before turning back around to continue trudging through the muddy ground amongst the tall trees. Sam breathed in the woodsy fragrance of dew on wet leaves and pine. She looked around but her gut told her Martin wasn't here but she wasn't sure where they could look so until then she would just walk.

With his head still looking forward Victor said, "I've never really liked the forest."

"Me either." Sam replied to the back of Victor's head. "I prefer having room service, hot water and indoor plumbing."

"Every summer Martin would beg me to take him camping." Victor stopped as they reached the river and scanned the water's edge. He turned to Sam and added, "Roger and Bonnie would take him to their cabin but he would still want me to go. I would tell him that I would try and meet them up there whenever I had some free time but I never did. I never even thought about it much less try."

Sam didn't know who she felt sorrier for: Martin as a little boy who wanted to spend time with his dad or the Victor of today who now realizes all the things he missed. Not saying anything she just glanced out at on the water when her cell phone speakerphone beeped and Jack's voice came on the line. "Sam, get back over here with Victor right away."

"What is it Jack?" Sam asked with Victor listening carefully.

"Just get over here. We're going to have to leave."

Victor was already headed back before Sam had a chance reply, "We're on our way."

Sam caught up with Victor and as they entered the clearing she spotted Jack talking with the sheriff and a park ranger.

"What's going on Jack?" Victor asked, slightly out of breath after rushing over mud and roots of trees.

"This is Joaquin Sanchez. He's the local park ranger." Jack gestured to a short stocky Hispanic man with dark caramel skin. "He's about to finish telling us what he knows."

Sam and Victor looked at Joaquin anxiously.

"Like I was telling the Agent Malone, I talked to Harry a few weeks ago."

_Joaquin was loading some equipment in his truck when Harry drove up in an older model dark blue Ford Taurus. Joaquin recognized his friend and tossed his bag into the cab of the truck before walking over to meet Harry. _

"_Hey man, how's it going?" Joaquin greeted. "What brings you up this way?"_

_Harry extended his hand to shake. "I'm good. How are things up here?"_

"_Oh, you know, there's always something. We're closing this site for renovations, etc."_

"_Closing the campground?" Harry narrowed his eyes as he studied the area and saw a box like structure that looked like small dumpster bin but with locks. He pointed to it and asked, "What's that?"_

"_Those are the new storage sheds for the supplies." Joaquin walked over to the bin and popped open the lid. "They cost a bundle but they hold more and are easier to move from site to site." _

_Harry looked twitchy as he asked, "What did you do with the old ones?" _

_Joaquin closed the lid and said, "Oh, we gave those to Allegany State Park. They are doing some maintenance at the older campsites on the north end."_

"_And you gave them the old sheds?"_

"_Yeah." Joaquin walked back to the truck and said, "Hey, you want to head over to Frankie's for a beer?"_

_Harry looked like he was lost in thought as he stared at the storage container. He seemed to finally register what Joaquin was saying and he turned to him and replied, "Huh? Um, no I gotta get back." He gave him a smile and added, "Maybe some other time."_

"And then he left." Joaquin finished.

"This campground you mentioned, is it also closed for renovations?" Sam asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

Joaquin nodded his head and replied, "Yeah."

Jack pulled out his notepad and pen and looking directly at the park ranger said, "I want you to give me specific directions on which site it is you mentioned to Harry."

Victor glanced at his watch and said, "Harry could already be there by now."

Directions in hand, Jack looked at Sam and Victor before they all hurried to the helicopter.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

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Martin could hear footsteps approaching and he suddenly grew very afraid. It sounded like one person and not the search party he was hoping for. He stood up knowing that the person at the door did not sound like they were here to rescue him which meant that the odds were that it was his captor. When he heard the bolt being unlocked he knew that something went terribly bad at the ransom drop. He placed the handcuff over his free wrist so it appeared that he was still shackled and braced himself as the door swung wide and there was Harry looking extremely pissed off.

Shit.

Harry pointed the gun at Martin and growled, "Come with me." Martin's nerves stood on end but he did as he was told and stepped towards Harry who moved aside so he could exit the shed. Once he exited, Harry shoved him hard on the back and said, "Start walking."

Martin looked at him carefully before walking towards the forest. He glanced around knowing that this time he was going to have to try and figure out a way to escape. It didn't matter if he didn't feel up to it, the consequences of not trying would be far worse. He tried to think of a way to stall for more time.

"Did my father not pay?" Martin asked softly.

"Some schmuck tried to grab my money and then every cop in New York pounced on him. I guess I should be happy that the guy did what he did. Now I know your father obviously doesn't care if you live or die. If he did he would've listened to me and not have included the police like I told him."

Martin wanted to tell him that it was unavoidable to not include the FBI or police. He and his father were FBI. Instead he tried to reason with him, "If you kill me you won't get any money at all."

"Maybe not, but it would buy me time to get to Canada. And you wouldn't be able to identify me."

"What about your partner?" Martin asked. He knew at this point he had nothing to lose so he decided to just lay all the cards on the table. "How do you know he won't flip on you?"

"He's too smart for that. Besides, he's the reason that you are even here." Harry said as he walked behind Martin. "He hates your father and you get to pay the price."

It figures, Martin thought. Even in a situation like this he is still living in his father's shadow. He briefly wondered who this person was that hated his father enough to do something like this but now was not the time.

He looked around for anything that he could pick up quickly and use to disarm or injure Harry. He spotted a fallen tree branch about twenty yards ahead so he tried to formulate a plan. He remembered what Sam had told him she did when Niran Kiet took her to the junkyard on the Colleen McGrath case. He slowed down his walking and waited for Harry to shove him again.

Harry pushed him on his back and angrily said, "Hurry up!"

Martin pretended that the force of the shove was really hard and stumbled forward next to the fallen branch. He tightened his hand around the branch when he felt Harry tugging on his shirt saying, "Get up!"

Taking advantage of the fact that Harry wasn't standing steadily Martin sat up and swung the branch as hard as he could at Harry's knees. Harry yelped and Martin moved to a standing position. Harry was still disoriented so he swung the branch again and this time he hit Harry on his shoulder and side of his head. Harry fell back but did not release his grip on the gun.

Martin tried to make a move towards the gun when Harry steadied himself enough to hold the gun out towards Martin. Their eyes met and Martin noticed Harry blinking a lot trying to regain his focus when a loud whirring sound was heard above. Martin knew that sound well; the Calvary has arrived.

Harry looked up to investigate so Martin took advantage and ran off towards the sound of the helicopter.

"GET BACK HERE!" Harry shouted.

Martin looked back and saw that he had a good lead on Harry but the man was still giving chase. Suddenly a shot rang out and Martin saw a bullet hit a tree to the right of him. He reminded himself how hard it is to hit a moving target so he took his chances and kept running. The rocks below hurt his socked feet and the laborious breathing of having to run set his entire chest on fire but he knew that he had to keep going. He had to get to that helicopter, get to safety, get to Sam.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

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"We're here." Jack announced into the earpieces.

Sam was sitting near the window and when she looked down she saw a dark blue Taurus parked below. She turned to Victor and said, "That's Harry's car."

He peeked out the widow and nodded his head in agreement. He pulled out his gun and held it on his lap as the helicopter began its descent. Sam was slightly worried, unsure how long it had been since the Deputy Director had handled a firearm but glad that they had more backup all the same. As soon as the helicopter touched down, Victor opened the door quickly, stepped out, and immediately headed towards the campground. Sam and Jack walked briskly behind him as they scanned the area for any sign of Harry or Martin.

Jack pointed to the cluster of tress and said, "According to Joaquin the shed is….."

His speech was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. One shot and then another.

Victor stopped short and darted his eyes around as he tried to locate the source and in a panicked voice said, "Where is it coming from!"

"This way!" Sam shouted as she rushed towards the source of the gun shots. She and Jack exchanged looks and he indicated that he would go left and that she and Victor should go right. Another shot sounded and she took off in pursuit with Victor hot on her heels.

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Martin continued racing through the woods where low hanging tree branches and bristly bushes scraped his arms and face as he passed. He could hear Harry catching up with him but he knew that he had to keep moving. He wanted to run faster but his injuries were slowing him down as the pain in his side increased with each step and each inhalation of breath.

Suddenly he felt something pierce his thigh that was instantaneously joined by a hot burning pain. The moment he started to collapse onto the ground he knew that he had been hit by one of Harry's bullets. He braced his fall with his hands and he could feel his fingers sink into the muddy floor. He crawled forward a few inches before rolling over onto his back. If he was going to be killed he wanted to face his murderer.

Martin watched as Harry rushed towards him with a smug look of self satisfaction on his face. He aimed the gun at Martin and panting heavily grunted, "If I am going to get put away for life I am going down in a fucking blaze of glory."

He felt the roots of the tree digging into his back as he glared at Harry and replied, "There's no glory in murder."

"Says you." Harry aimed the gun carefully at Martin who was holding his breath, realizing that the last thing he was going to see was this man's ugly mug. Everything around him went quiet as all of the sounds around him faded away. Martin steadied his gaze on Harry in this moment seemingly suspended in time when the silence was abruptly ruptured as several shots sounded.

A millisecond passed and Martin realized that he wasn't the one who had been shot. He looked at Harry whose crazy eyes went wide in disbelief as he looked down at his shirt where blood began to pour from the holes in his chest. His buggy eyes went even wider before going completely lifeless. Harry fell to his knees and face forward onto the wet dirt.

Martin stared at Harry's prostrated form when he heard the most beautiful sound in the world as Sam's voice shouted, "Martin!"

He looked over to the source of her voice and saw not only Sam rushing towards him but his father as well. He smiled knowing that it was finally over. He blew out a breath and slumped back down relieved.

"Martin?" Sam said as she took the gun out of Harry's hands and tucked it into the back of her pants. She kneeled down next him and looked into his eyes, "Martin, are you okay?"

He smiled at her and replied, "I'm really happy to see you, Peaches."

"The feeling is mutual." She replied with a soft laugh, taking off her jacket and laying it over him. She looked at him with infinite tenderness. They kept their eyes on one another for a beat when she turned her attention to the gunshot wound on his leg. "You're bleeding." She started to take off her belt.

"Martin." Victor said as he kneeled on the other side of him. He put his hand on Martin's forehead, brushed his hair back and said, "Son, thank god you're alive."

Martin looked at Victor and saw that his extremely emotionally guarded father had tears in his eyes. Realizing that he had never been happier to see him in his entire life, he softly replied, "Hey dad."

He winced when Sam strapped the belt around his thigh and tightened it. Sam looked at Victor and said, "I'm going to need your jacket and your tie and your shirt."

Victor made quick work of removing the items and as he handed the items to Sam he quietly said, "Here you go."

"How is he?" Jack asked in his gruff but sincere voice.

Sam turned to Jack and said, "Tell the paramedics he's been shot. It looks like a through and through but they have to hurry."

Jack nodded and pulled out his cell phone. "This is special agent Jack Malone…."

Sam pressed the shirt to Martin's leg and said, "Victor, I'm going to need you to press down hard to slow the bleeding."

"Sure, absolutely." Victor did as he was instructed and Sam turned her attention to the blood on Martin's shirt. "Son…I'm so sorry….it's my fault…"

With heavy lidded eyes as he felt exhaustion overwhelm him, he interrupted his father as he softly whispered, "Look dad, we're finally out in the woods together."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

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Martin opened his eyes and saw his father slouched in the chair beside him, sleeping noisily. Even in slumber his father looked worn and exhausted, like he had aged ten years in a matter of days. He studied him for a minute before turning his head to look out the window to find that the sky was dark.

"Hey, you're awake." He lifted his head up from the pillow and saw Sam sitting across the room under a soft fluorescent light reading a newspaper. She folded the periodical and stood up. She tossed the paper on the chair and walked over to the bed. She glanced at his father and said, "Can I just tell you that I am incredibly thankful that you did not inherit your father's predisposition to snoring?"

Martin rested his head back on the pillow and replied, "Yeah, he does sound like a faulty muffler."

Sam smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. He could feel the mattress dip at towards her as his body moved slightly closer towards hers. She picked up his hand and held it in both of hers. Her hand was warm and soft and he realized how much he missed the feel of her skin.

She looked at him with eyes that were soft and sincere and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Crappy." He replied; his voice gravely from the sedation. He eyed her carefully, not wanting to break the spell but he had to ask, "How long have I been out?"

"It's five a.m. so about eleven hours or so."

Martin gave her a deflated look and asked, "So, what's the prognosis?"

Sam licked her lips and squeezed his hand tightly, "The bullet damaged some of the connective tissue in your thigh. It also managed to hit part of your femur which caused it to break; which means that you have lots and lots of physical therapy in store for you."

Martin sighed heavily and asked, "Great, anything else?"

"The knife wound was infected but they are giving you a course of antibiotics and your cold has evolved into pneumonia." Sam scooted closer and moved their clasped hands to her lap, "The good news is the doctor's are very confident that you are going to make a full recovery."

Martin coughed and there was a slight stinging sensation in his side. Not unbearable, just uncomfortable. He shifted trying to find a more comfortable position.

"Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse?" Sam asked worriedly as she moved the hand not holding his to his forearm and began to caress it slowly, reassuringly.

He coughed again and shook his head. When the fit subsided he sunk his head deeper into the pillow and replied, "Not yet." He stole a quick glance at his hand in hers. "How long have you been here?"

"Awhile, I didn't want to go home until I knew you were alright." She studied his face for a moment before turning to look at Victor and added, "Neither did your parents. Your dad finally fell asleep about an hour ago and your mom went to get us coffee."

Martin nodded his head suddenly feeling sleepy. He closed his eyes and said with a yawn, "That's good." He squeezed her hand and added, "I'm glad you're here Sam."

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When he opened his eyes again the sun had risen and bright light filled the room. He looked over and saw that his father was wide awake and looking at him intently.

"Good morning." Victor said quietly as he leaned forward to get a better look at Martin. He looked at Martin as if he were afraid he would disappear at any moment.

"Morning." Martin replied. He glanced around the room and saw that they were all alone.

Seeing his gesture Victor said, "Samantha told us you woke up for awhile earlier this morning so your mother went back to the hotel to get some sleep." He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, smiled and added, "It took a little longer to convince Samantha but she finally agreed claiming that she needed to take a shower anyway."

Martin smiled and gave a light laugh. "Yeah, that sounds like her."

Victor smiled and nodded his head. They just looked at one another quietly, each unsure where to begin.

"The doctor said you are going to be fine." Victor said, trying to break the silence.

"I'm glad to hear that." Martin replied softly. He looked over his father's face and recognized that look of guilt. "Dad, it's not your fault."

"You don't even know all the details yet." Victor argued as he shook his head.

"I know that you cannot help what someone else does." Martin rebutted. He saw that his dad didn't believe him so with as much conviction as he could muster he said, "Dad, I'm going to be okay. You got there in time."

Victor lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Martin, how can you be so forgiving? Because of my past mistakes you had to suffer the consequences of my actions."

"By the way you look I'd say you suffered too." Martin gently responded.

Victor looked at him in disbelief. "I don't know how you do it. How can you go through something like this and not hate me for it?"

"You're my dad. I could never hate you." Martin replied matter-of-factly. Victor cocked an eyebrow and gave him a doubtful look. "Okay, sure, you drive me crazy sometimes by meddling in my life. You are always trying to tell me what to do which totally gets on my nerves…."

Victor laughed and the lines around his eyes crinkled making his face look soft and kind. "That's the Martin I know."

The two men looked at each other for a beat when Victor quietly said, "I'm sorry I was never there for you when you were growing up, Martin." He gave a humorless laugh and continued, "It took something like this to really make me see just how badly I failed as a father. To realize just how much of your life I missed. I just always thought there would be more time for us to do those things that you were always asking me to do."

Martin smiled at his father and replied, "There still is, dad."


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

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Sam walked into Martin's room and found him watching TV. She glanced at the screen and saw that it was _Sports Center. _Again. He had been in the hospital for a couple of days and each time she visited him he was watching something sports related. It was a good sign that he was doing well but sometimes she wondered just how much _ESPN _one man could possibly watch. Chuckling she asked, "Don't you ever get tired of watching Stuart Scott recount game plays?"

"Never." Martin replied with a grin.

"Where are your parents?" She asked noticing that they were alone. His parents had been keeping constant vigil in his room for the last few days, which while completely and absolutely understandable, she secretly wished that they would give her a little bit of time alone with Martin.

"I finally convinced them to get out of the hospital and get something to eat. Their constant hovering was nice at first but I needed a break as much as they did." He answered as he clicked off the TV. He scooted up in the bed and Sam moved to help adjust his pillow. When he was situated he looked at her and said, "Thanks."

"No problem." She took the seat next to Martin's bed and leaned forward with her elbows resting on her thighs, hands clasped. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm cool." He pulled the blanket up and straightened it out. "Between you and my parents I'm going to get used to being spoiled." He absentmindedly scratched his scratched his chin that sported four days growth. While she was never a fan of men with stubble she had to admit it made him look a little dangerous and a lot sexy. He leaned into the pillow and said, "I can't get over how different my dad is acting around me."

She gave him a warm smile. "It's good though, right?"

"Yeah, it's good, weird, but good." Martin's eyes lit up and he said, "He is actually talking about taking a little vacation so we can hang out for awhile, maybe play some golf or go to a Knicks game."

"That's great. It's good to know that something positive came out of all of this." Martin nodded his head solemnly. Sam knew that this was the time to talk about everything she had been thinking about so she looked into his eyes and softly said, "I was really worried about you Martin."

"Well, you made it in time so I guess it's my turn to say thanks." He reached out for her hand and said, "Thank you for saving my life, Sam."

"You're welcome." She grinned widely before adding, "But it wasn't just me, your dad was there too."

"I know. I've already talked to him about it but it isn't just about shooting Davidge. When I was walking through the woods and I was certain that he was going to kill me it was you who helped me figure out what to do. I remembered what you told me you did in that junkyard with Kiet." Martin looked at her with tenderness and said, "So, in a way, you saved my life twice in one day."

Her lips curved into a smile and replied, "So we're even then? Two for two."

"Yeah, let's just hope it stays at a tie." Martin looked at her with affection as his thumb started to gently caress her hand, sending a tingling sensation throughout her body.

She knew that now was the time to talk about what she was feeling so she leaned closer, looked into his eyes and said, "Martin, I know that I wasn't particularly nice to you lately."

"I can't say I blame you." He stilled his thumb and quietly breathed, "Sam, I'm really sorry about how I ended it. You deserved better but I…..just didn't know how else to do it."

She lowered her eyes and replied, "I won't lie; I thought it was a low blow to do it in the office. Although, thinking about it later, I certainly started my share of fights at work."

Martin didn't reply but just nodded his head almost imperceptibly. "I'm just glad that we are getting back to good. That we are friends again."

Sam's stomach contracted at hearing him use the word 'friends'. She didn't want to return to being just friends, she wanted more. She glanced at their hands and knew that he was probably just playing it safe. The way he was holding her hand was not a gesture indicative of someone who just wanted to be friends, amigos, mates. It was a physical expression between lovers. She couldn't blame him for being not wanting to risk ruining what they were seemingly rebuilding but being federal agents they were risk takers weren't they?

She licked her lips and said, "Martin, when you were missing I realized some things. I pushed you away because I was scared of what we were becoming and what that meant. But not knowing if I was ever going to see you again, to see your smile, it was ten times scarier. Just the thought that you would never be in my life anymore was unbearable. Martin, I don't want to go back to being just your friend." She moved her hand in his and intertwined their fingers. "I want to give us another try."

"Good because I want that too, Sam." Martin replied as he pulled her hands towards him so she had to get out of her seat. She sat on the edge of the bed and she moved her arm so her hand rested on the other side of him. Her upper body was positioned just over him with her face directly in front of his. "But if we do this again we both have to promise to be a lot nicer to each other, to talk things out and not just fight or have sex to keep from talking about why we are fighting."

"Okay." Sam leaned in further so her face was inches from his. "As long as we're making promises, do you promise to not storm off when we fight?"

"I promise." He moved his face forward and his lips lingered just over hers. His breath was hot on her lips and she stared deep into his blue eyes that were filled with hunger as he said, "Do you promise to let me in when you start to freak out about me or us or anything else rather than just start a fight?"

"I promise." Sam replied with her lips touching his but not quite kissing. "So, are we in agreement? Are we getting back together?"

"I think so." Martin murmured against her mouth as his free hand traveled achingly slow up her arm which sent goose bumps all over her body.

"Good." Sam whispered. "Because the other thing I realized is that I love you, Martin."

She saw his eyes go wide before he smiled against her lips and said, "I love you, Sam."

She grinned before she pressed her lips to his and kissed him. It was tentative at first, tasting and remembering before slowly increasing in intensity and passion and love.

He kissed her hard and deep, his tongue gently thrusting inside. She tilted her head to give him better access and moved a hand behind his head to runner her fingers through his hair. She knew that this first step in reconciliation was going well when she heard Martin release a guttural moan in appreciation of what her mouth was doing to him. She moved her other hand to his chest to press him tightly against her. She was so lost in the kiss as the world around her faded into a hazy blur that it took her a few minutes to realize that Martin's moans of pleasure had turned to grunts of pain.

He pulled away from her kisses and said, "Sam, stop." He grabbed her hand that was on his chest and she opened her eyes to see that his face was grimaced in pain. He looked at her with sad eyes and said, "Sorry, I'm still tender there."

"Martin, no, I'm sorry I wasn't even thinking…" Sam apologized as she scanned over his chest to make sure he really was okay.

"Really, it's okay Sam." He lifted the hand he had grabbed and lifted it to his lips and kissed it softly. "Besides, in my condition I can't do much more than kiss and I really wanted more."

Sam smiled, kissed him softly and replied, "Well, then I guess we just have something to look forward to."

He gave her the grin that she had missed seeing everyday. She smiled coyly and said, "Scoot over. We may not be able to do much but I'd like to do something else I've missed doing with you."

He looked at her questioningly but did as he was told. She kicked off her shoes and moved to lie down next to him. It was a tight fit for two grown people on a twin bed but she lay on her side with her head tucked safely between his shoulder and neck. She rested her arm delicately over his chest and asked, "Is this okay?"

Martin sighed as he kissed her forehead and replied, "It's perfect."

To be continued in the Epilogue.


	35. Epilogue

NC-17 just for you gutter dwellers. You know who you are….

Epilogue:

Sam opened her eyes and stretched out her arms while still in those early moments in the morning when everything around her seemed fuzzy and dreamy. She rolled over to find Martin lying on his side beside her. He was facing away from her so she rested her head back on the pillow and studied the contours of his back as the early morning light played shadows on his shoulder blades. She reached out with delicate fingertips and traced the outline of his back which was warm to the touch. He had a beautiful smooth muscular back that was only marred by a few scratches. She really needed to file her nails.

Martin shifted in his sleep and mumbled something she couldn't understand. When he settled down again she pulled her hand away and brought it to rest under her cheek. She wasn't ready to wake him quite yet. She gazed at his back a little longer before her eyes traveled down to where the sheet rested low on his hip. She smiled knowing that he wasn't wearing anything underneath the sheet. In the four months since they reconciled he had decided there was no point in wearing clothes to bed when she was just going to make him take them off anyway. Deciding he made a good point she opted to not wear clothes to bed either. Of course, it was still summer, that rule might change come winter.

She moved her hand out from under her cheek and lifted her head off the pillow as she reached over and grazed her hand over the firm curve of his ass to reach around and gently grab the shaft of his penis. His early morning erection hardened even further. She delicately hand her hand up and down a few strokes and running her thumb over the tip. Just being able to do this to him made her feel aroused. His hips instinctively thrust in response so she moved closer to him so she could be at a better angle.

"Good morning." His voice rumbled. She released her grasp and he groaned loudly as he rolled onto his back. He looked at her with heavy lidded eyes and his hair was tussled from sleep. "I didn't mean for you to stop."

"Good morning to you." Sam grinned and moved her lips to his.

He responded by kissing her hard on the mouth. He started a trail of kisses down her throat and headed towards her chest. He lightly ran his tongue over the nipple of one breast bringing it to life. He sucked gently at first and then increased the pressure that made her gasp in pleasure. He moved back up to her lips and as the kiss deepened he moved his hand between her thighs to caress her swollen clitoris. He hands moved in slow circles at first but as he slowly increased the friction she arched her hips in response. She tried to keep her eyes on Martin as he looked at her enraptured but as she felt her body begin to contract in climax her eyes shut as the sensation overwhelmed her.

When she opened her eyes again he was watching her with eyes full of love and desire. He brushed her hair from her face and said, "I love seeing you like that, you look so beautiful."

"I love being with you like this." She smiled and then reached up to kiss him, nibbling on his bottom lip. "But we're not done yet."

Martin gave a soft laugh against her mouth and then kissed her hard as he moved his body carefully on top of hers. He put his forearms on either side of her to brace his weight. Sam ran her hands along his back which was now slick with a thin sheen of sweat. She pulled him tightly against her as he moved his mouth to gently nip on her earlobe and she gave a deep throaty hum of appreciation.

He returned to her mouth and kissed her deeply, his tongue mingling and tasting when he slowly pushed inside her. She moaned against his mouth as she took in his full length, savoring the completeness of him being connected to her.

He pumped slowly at first and Sam moved her hands to cup his ass. She squeezed his taut rear and urged him deeper inside her. She was always amazed at how well they moved together as they made love. She tilted her pelvis higher to urge him further. He increased the pace as his cock slid in and out with need and urgency.

"Mmm….Martin, right there…." She rocked her hips with his and she could feel her body on the edge of the abyss. She moved her arms up to his back and dug her nails in as she felt his muscles constrict as his body tensed. One thrust later she felt the spasm of pleasure followed immediately by a throaty cry from Martin at his own release.

He collapsed his body on hers and with hot breath against her neck her muttered, "Move….need….second."

Sam ran her hands slowly over his biceps and said, "Lost the ability to speak?"

He shook his head against her shoulder and said, "No blood in head."

Sam laughed and she could feel both their bodies shake. He kissed her shoulder and carefully rolled off of her and plopped his head on his pillow. Happily satiated Sam draped her body over his, resting her head on his chest. They lay together quietly in post-coital bliss as she listened to his heart beating fast in his chest.

He ran his hand over her lower back and she asked, "What time do you have to go pick up your dad at the hotel?"

True to his word, Victor had been making a solid effort to build a relationship with Martin. He called at least once a week and this was his second trip to New York to spend some quality father and son time.

"We tee off at nine thirty so I told him I'd swing by at eight fifteen." He glanced over to look at the clock and softly said, "You know, I'm going to have to get up to take a shower in a little while."

"Yup, that's probably a good idea." Sam replied as she ran her fingers over the soft hairs on his chest.

He kissed the nape of her neck and asked, "Feel like singing a duet, Peaches?"

Sam laughed and looked up into his eyes and said, "Only if I get to pick the song."


End file.
